The Epic Of Roronoa
by sortakindamaybeperhaps
Summary: In Orario, fearless adventurers band together in search of fame and fortune within the monstrous underground labyrinth known as Dungeon. Roronoa Zoro, who would one day be known as a legendary swordsman, wakes up in a world he doesn't recognize. Will he ever find his way back to his friends or will he stay and become a legend in this strange place?
1. Prologue

**_[EDITED]_**

 ** _A LOST GOD?_**

 ** _PROLOGUE_**

Zoro felt as though his head has just been smashed straight through a 10-inches thick of solid concrete wall. His left eye twitched a little as the pressure and ache crawled forward—right around the hinge of his jaw, eventually reaching the side of his neck and just below his temple—like a vice, it coiled around his head, was stabbing behind his ears and slithered over his eyelids. This odd stinging sensation had affected him a lot more than the usual morning hangover he would get after spending a whole night enjoying a feast with his crewmembers and that is saying a lot, considering that Zoro is quite a heavy drinker with an incredibly high alcohol tolerance. It was quite an unpleasant feeling for Zoro, fortunately for himself, the torment was quick to fade over time. He waited until the constant mental throbbing had ceased and at last, he managed to sit up and fairly peeled his one eye open.

Floating serenely, here and there, are a gather of translucent orbs of light. Dazzling and dancing merrily about his surroundings, onwards and upwards they go. Zoro propped himself up on his left elbow with his other forearm draped casually across his chiselled torso and looked around questioningly. After a good few seconds of unsuccessful inspection, he let out a grunt and sat himself upright.

 _'It's dark, too dark for me to see.. Where am I?'_

Zoro angled his head downwards and realized that he can clearly see his own body and yet he couldn't even tell what's a few centimetres in front of him. Two legs, folded comfortably in a Criss-cross applesauce position under his open dark-green coat that is being held by a red sash around his waist—where his three swords are safely tucked into—can be perceived with normal eyes without difficulty. His scarred chest exposed to the open space, revealing a green haramaki underneath the long coat. He raised one of his hands in front of him in a single waving motion—reaching into nothingness—and proceeded to wriggle his fingers, baffled when his hand was not swallowed up by the darkness around him. Zoro rubbed his one good eye with the heel of his palm and swiveled his head around after the action, a single eyebrow arched. He scrunched up his eye into a squint, and studied the harmless looking orbs, all the while he was wondering to himself; how could it still be so dark with so many lights around. As if just finished making up his mind, Zoro abruptly stood up.

He realised an odd pattern with the see-through glowing spheres, the fact that not one of them have made any direct contact with him. Considering the large amount of these orbs drifting about, you think Zoro would get a brush or a peck at least once or twice by now. But no, it were as if they could sense his presence standing there, if one were ever to come close enough, it would immediately swivel around or over his head and moved toward a different direction.

It took a while, but Zoro finally came to grip with the situation at hand. Zoro was most definitely not confined in a dark room, nor was the pitch black around him to be what he would normally consider as darkness. A black void of space, a state of nothingness, an endless abyss. Becoming more unrest as the seconds ticked away, Zoro glimpsed another light orb had floated close enough to enter his personal space, and just as quickly he caught onto that the fact that bright floating spheres have started to grow in numbers, and at such an impressive rate. They kept multiplying and was spreading throughout the area like a wildfire, all the whilst they continued to glow brighter. The brightness blinded him for a second. As he flicked his one eye open once again, the lights had already illuminated the shadows around him until all he saw in his path was the colour white. The sudden change of picture threw Zoro off-balance for a moment, not knowing what he should expect to happen next.

"What the he-" Zoro managed to say out loud before he blacked out for the second time _._

* * *

 **A/N: A VERY SHORT START AS PROLOGUE BUT I PROMISE IT WONT BE LIKE THIS WITH OTHER CHAPTERS. SO I GOT THIS PRETTY NEAT IDEA FOR A CROSSOVER FANFIC BETWEEN ONE PIECE AND DANMACHI. FOR THOSE WHO DOESNT KNOW THE SERIES BEFORE;**

 **1) THE STORY "DANMACHI" TAKES PLACE IN A FICTIONAL CITY KNOWN AS ORARIO. ORARIO IS THE ONLY PLACE IN THE WORLD THAT HAS A DUNGEON.**

 **2) THERE ARE VARIOUS GROUPS OF ADVENTURERS IN THIS STORY, DIFFERENT PARTIES AND THEY ALL BELONG IN AN ORGANIZATION CALLED A FAMILIA. KINDA LIKE A GUILD.**

 **3) PEOPLE WHO JOIN ANY OF THESE FAMILIAS WILL SERVE A RANGE OF FUNCTIONS, FROM EXPLORING DUNGEONS TO CRAFTING ITEMS FROM THE COLLECTED GOODS YOU OBTAINED IN THE DUNGEON. EXACTLY LIKE MANY OTHER GREAT GAMES EVER CREATED.**

 **4) HERE'S THE GOOD PART, EVERY FAMILIA IS NAMED AFTER AND SERVES A RESIDENT DEITY. AS IN, THE HEAD OF THEIR FAMILIA IS THE GOD/GODDESS THEY WORSHIP THEMSELVES. BUT OF COURSE THERE IS ALSO A LEADER WHO IS IN CHARGE AMONG THE OTHERS BECAUSE IT IS FORBIDDEN FOR A DEITY TO EVER STEP A FOOT INSIDE THE DUNGEON. BUT SOMEHOW THEY DONT SEEM TO CARE ABOUT THE RULES.**

 **5) THE DUNGEON IS A BOTTOMLESS PIT WHERE THE MONSTERS' STRENGTH DEPENDS ON THE FLOORS OF THE DUNGEON. AS FAR AS EVERYONE KNOW, NO ONE HAS EVER REACHED THE LOWEST LEVEL OF THE DUNGEON YET. THE DUNGEON HAS A 50-FLOORS TOWER ON IT'S SURFACE THAT ACTS AS A LID. FAMOUSLT KNOWN THE BABEL TOWER.**

 **6) EVERY DOZEN OF FLOORS OR SO WILL HAVE A BOSS-LEVEL MONSTER OR GUARDIAN. YOU HAVE TO DEFEAT AND SLAY IT IF YOU WANT TO CONTINUE YOUR DESCEND IN THE DUNGEON. AGAIN, JUST LIKE MANY OTHER GREAT GAMES.**

 **7) THOSE WHO DOESN'T JOIN A FAMILIA WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO ENTER THE DUNGEON BECAUSE IT IS DANGEROUS. YOU NEED TO JOIN A FAMILIA AND RECEIVE A BLESSING FROM YOUR DEITY. ONLY THEN, YOU CAN WORK YOUR MAGIC. I THINK..**

 **AND SO I THOUGHT, ZORO, DEMIGOD ASHURA, DEITY, RING A BELL ANYONE? HENCE, A LOST GOD.**


	2. Chapter 1

**_[EDITED]_**

 ** _DUNGEON_**

 ** _CHAPTER 1_**

The next time he opened his one eye, Zoro came to a realisation that he's currently lying down in a dim room. From the look of it's short, circular, and domed-like roof's structure, it can be assumed he is inside a small yurt. Zoro turned his head aside, carefully observing the small space. There is not much room for any lavish furnitures in it but it is a fitting place for a brief stay.

 _'_ _Huh, what a weird dream..'_

While the place looked cosy enough, Zoro did not let himself be fooled by the calming atmosphere, as well as let himself get comfortable. Everything is unfamiliar to him, this is not his place. It does not smell like his ship, it does not look like his ship, it does not sound like his ship, and it certainly does not feel like his ship. This is not his home. Almost at once his left hand flew to his right side of hip only for him to grab at an empty space. His body tensed up immediately as one mindful eye began scanning the room until finally his alarming glare fell onto the very objects he has been searching for, his valuable swords. Zoro heaved a sigh of relief as he threw off the blanket covering his legs, he then proceeded to get up from the futon mattress he just woke up in.

"Where am I?" Zoro said to himself whilst studying his surroundings. A yurt is a circular-framed dwelling made from lattices of flexible woods and is covered in felt. The felt that covers the yurt is usually made out of wool collected from sheeps or goats, but with little inspection by Zoro, this felt is probably made out of the latter. The diameter of the room is about three and a half metres long, with the height of five feet tall. The central part of the dome-shaped roof, called the crown, is left partially open so that air can circulate inside the room sufficiently. There are no windows, the only source of light in the dim room is through the small opening in it's roof.

Zoro had to lower his head down to an uncomfortable angle in order to stand his full height in the yurt, looking rather comical himself. He could feel his unusual coloured hair at the top of his head scraping against the felt cover with every stride he's taking. The height is so ridiculously short that Zoro could have poked his head through the crown of the roof if he wanted to. An action as ridiculous as that is something only his captain would do, though.

The futon mattress he was resting in lay spread beside one of the panels that makes the frame of this dwelling. In the middle of the room, there placed a single cushion seat with a traditional japanese chabudai table beside it. A snuffed out candle perched comfortably on the table. Zoro walked up to the wooden surface—which is not a great distant away, it simply took him three short strides—and he crouched down on his knee in front of it to get a closer look on the materials lying on it. Having the table positioned right under the opening in the roof is convenient for Zoro, the rays of sunlight flowing inside the room helped him see the items better in the dark room.

There's a piece of dark fabric unfurled across the wood which Zoro recognized as his own, and a cotton-like material neatly folded in half that he noted as a regular top. Zoro shifted his attention onto the other object, a thick ancient-looking volume draped in a worn out leather as a cover. Fancy inscriptions like marks and symbols that he's never seen before inscripted on the forefront. It looks complicated and indecipherable to Zoro, but he is reminded of someone who would just love to get their hands on such a thing. Robin.

"Hands. Lots and lots of hands," snorted Zoro at the irony. Curiosity made him flip through the pages, although later it was the confusion that made his gaze linger on them. It was silent for a while before there is another rustle, the sound of pages being turned fast and then there was silence in the air once again.

"Weird, it looks thoroughly worn on the outside but rather well-kept and neat inside." Not a single alphabet comes into sight, much less a dot of ink, not even the slightest crumple on the paper. The book is spotless. Feeling much more perplexed than before, he snatched the piece of clothing on the table with a swift gesture and rose up to make his way outside. With his head inclined to his right, Zoro makes a steady stride to the entrance. He put on the piece of clothing he just acquired, which is a simple dark-grey henley that matches perfectly with the khaki pants he is donning on—that Zoro has no idea how and since when he has it on, in a matter of fact.

As soon as he stepped outside, his **Kenbunshoku Haki** gives Zoro the advantage of immediately sensing the various lifeforms surrounding him. The sound of the lively chatter from the people nearby burst through his senses and penetrated his mind.

 _'Where in the hell am I?'_

What surprised him further is the sudden strong musky scent of earth and woods violating his sense of smell. Not that Zoro hasn't realised that he is on land, it was obvious when he awoke just a moment ago—from the absent sound of lulling waves calmly hitting the side of the ship, the lost scent of salt, sweat and damp woods in the air, and the lack of presences of the other eight important figures—but knowing and experiencing the feeling himself are two completely different matters and so the raw scent of earth infiltrating his sense of smell took him offguard.

As the landscape zoomed out, Zoro is seen standing in the middle of a campground set in a clearing of the forest, filled with people he has never before seen in his life. None of them seemed to mind that he just walked out of one of the yurts they set up. Zoro tilted his head upwards toward the sky, only in time to see huge birdlike creatures with vast wings soaring the sky, over and past the campground he is in. Zoro squinted his one eye to get a better look, with a clear thought screaming in his mind.

 _'What the hell is that?'_

* * *

After the fleeting panic moment passed for Zoro, he decided to take a walk around the encampment and try to gather any information regarding his whereabouts. The yurt he just exited is located right at the edge of the campground, with several other tents pitched up nearby him and all of them are facing in toward a central area, including his. Large cargo boxes are sitting on top of tree roots throughout the camp. A surprising amount of people scattered about, dwarves, animal people, elves, and various other races.

This gathering is what would usually be called a group of adventurers. Most of the people have a very serious air about them, but some are just talking, almost relaxing with one another. Two elves are seen sitting beside each other in the grass. A pallum and human, one leaning against a box twice his size with his arms crossed while the other uses his hands to make gestures as they continue engaging each other in a lively conversation. Their armor and weapons show signs of fierce battles. Whoever made their equipment was extremely good at what they do.

It seemed like the people around doesn't pay any attention to him. They look to be quite busy themselves. These people don't look like feeble farmers or mere civilians, Zoro could feel the aura of strength radiating from all of them. They have a station full with weapon arms and fighting gears, a whole rack of them. Not wanting any unnecessary attention, Zoro walked out to the outskirts of the camping ground and hence, away from all the gaze of unfamiliar eyes.

That's when Zoro spotted a lone figure by the border of the grassy clearing—right in front of the thick woods—standing alone by his lonesome as he continuously stared off in a distant. The lone stranger's back is facing him, Zoro could just make out a frame of broad shoulders with an unusual colour of hair, not that Zoro has any right to judge. Zoro walked up until he's only a few distance away before speaking up.

"Oi you, can you tell me where I am?" Asked the green-haired swordsman in his usual gruff manners, to the fairly-looking young man. The young man was quite surprised by the sudden voice coming from behind him for he did not sense any presence standing there just a thought ago.

"Ehh!" Exclaimed the young man, as he springs in an upstart and quickly skids away from Zoro.

"You surprised me there, how did you get so close?! You know it exists, right? This one concept called personal space." The stranger looked to be about 5'9" feet tall with a medium-built body, and a strikingly bright and spiky red hair. He's styled in a plain dark blue long-sleeved jacket and beige chino pants, his look is completed with a blue scarf tied around his neck. An annoyed expression etched upon his face, before he realised he just unintentionally unloaded all of his frustration onto the stranger in front of him.

"You were the one to let your guards down," Zoro retorts with an expression as irritated as the stranger. "Mind telling me where I am, tomato man?" Zoro demanded rather than questioned the man, causing a sweatdrop to appear on the stranger's forehead at the nickname given to him. The redhead give out a strained sigh before opening his mouth as he finally give respond to Zoro's question—slash interrogation.

"Ah sorry, that was rude of me. What's up with your question, you do know we're in the dungeon, right? Don't let this beautiful forest fool you, we're still in the monsters' den." His reply sounded quite depressing at the end before he continued himself. "Anyway, who are you? That's a nice rare shade you got there." The redhead spoke to himself more than to Zoro with his last statement. An arm crossing over his chest while the other hand is pensively stroking his chin, he put on a thoughful expression on his face.

"Kid, could you repeat that?" Replied Zoro leisurely, thinking he probably just misheard the information given to him. Given his height and the overly close proximity between them, Zoro easily loomed over the redhead's figure.

"Hai, hai. You're on the 18th floor, back away please. Jeez, how are you here if you don't even know that much.." Replied the redhead rather good-naturedly, hands up in front of his torso as if to create an invisible barrier between him and Zoro, for the green-haired man is intruding on his personal space once again. "Unless you were in the same situation as us and Loki familia found you passed out on one of the upper floors of the dungeon?" Continued the young man in bewilderment.

"18th floor? Familia? What are you talking about? What island is this?" Grunted out Zoro in his natural coarse voice and stern face, although his body language is anything but. His right hand is resting leisurely on one of his sword's hilt while the other is rubbing the back of his lower neck. A sudden sense of drowsiness hit him, making Zoro let out a lengthy yawn.

"Island? No, that's way off track. You're in the middle floors of the dungeon. How can you not know what a familia is? You must've hit your head pretty hard when you were out there." The redhead began to study Zoro skeptically, but he couldn't spot any physical injury on him that is dire enough to cause him amnesia. In fact, he's looking to be perfectly healthy and is in a good shape. Which causes the redhead to furrow his eyebrows even further.

As soon as the swordsman heard about his current whereabouts, all his sleepiness instantly oozes out of him. His one eye bulged open comically, looking almost to fall out, a drop of sweat rolling down his temple as he slowly raises his hand towards the redhead.

"Could you perhaps repeat that again, slowly." Zoro's right hand firmly grips the neckline of the redhead's shirt, slightly pulling the younger man closer to him.

"Whoa, easy there. Hands off, I'll explain it to you?" The redhead suggested towards Zoro, calmly try to remove the wrist currently clasping around his shirt off, unsuccessfully.

 _'I'm in a dungeon?!'_

* * *

 **A/N: NO THIS IS NOT YAOI LMAO SORRY IF YOU GOT THE WRONG IDEA, I LOVE YAOI BUT I DON'T WRITE ROMANCE WELL. BTW FOR THOSE OF YALL WONDERING, THIS STORY TAKES PLACE AFTER THE DRESSROSA ARC AND THE PARTY ZORO WAS TALKING ABOUT IN THE PROLOGUE IS THE FEAST ON BARTOLOMEO'S SHIP, GOING LUFFY-SENPAI. THANK YOU FOR READING AND ENJOY YOUR DAY!**


	3. Chapter 2

**_[EDITED]_**

 ** _DUNGEON - PART II_**

 ** _CHAPTER 2_**

 _'Maybe I should let someone else handle him, what am I supposed to do with a green-haired swordsman who lost his memory?!'_

To say that Zoro is lost about the situation at hand is an understatement—and what's more, the pun wasn't even intended. The redhead tried to be as much help as possible to Zoro. Well, keyword tried, but any information that comes out from the redhead's mouth did nothing to help Zoro clear his disoriented state of mind. His explanation only provided to more questions rather than answers.

The redhead earnestly explained the situation to him; according to the young man, supposedly they are inside a dungeon, on the 18th floor of the dungeon to be more specific—a safe haven to both adventurers and monsters. Informing him about the Livira, a small town founded by seasoned adventurers in the middle floors of the dungeon. Though he did not go into details about what a party and familia are supposed to be. The redhead asked Zoro concerning his party, saying he can't be this deep under all by his own.

 _'Adventurers? Dungeon? Monsters? Familia? Party? Is he talking about a feast?'_

"No." Brows furrowed as Zoro's mouth turned grim, "No, I know exactly who I am. I don't think I'm still in-" Silence. Whatever Zoro was about to say got cut off mid-sentence, and he's left standing with his mouth agape, looking awfully stupid while doing so.

 _'Why can't I say the damned thing? Open your mouth and say it, damnit! My voice- Where the hell is my voice!?'_

"Why can't I-" Taken off guard by his sudden ability to speak once again, he jerked his head backwards by an inch. A clearly confused expression stretched across his face, crack of lines grow more apparent in between his straight eyebrows—though the odd behaviour was easily overlooked by the redhead, Welf Crozzo, who by now Zoro has had the pleasure to personally be acquainted with.

"The first party has left already, which is from the Loki's familia. It's weird that they would just leave a member of their familia behind, if you are indeed one of them." Welf voiced his thought out loud, his tone of voice dubious. A pair of light blue eyes carefully assessing the lost swordsman standing in front of him, pupils darting to every inch of Zoro's face in an effort trying to get a read on the man.

 _'Judging from his scar and those swords on his waist, this man is undoubtedly a warrior. The only question here is how come I never saw him before? I would definitely remember that hair colour, though it is quite common for adventurers to have a colour code. Only elves are supposed to have that unique shade.'_

Welf leaned his back against a tree's bark, calmly appraising the situation. So far none of them has made even the slightest of indication that they have any intention of harming the other. There's no need to get defensive and harbor suspicions on the other just yet. The redhead seems to be in a deep thought, all the while Zoro is having an internal struggle with himself.

 _'I can't say anything about the grandline. As I try to form the words, something caught itself in there, like a lump forming a blockage in my throat. Almost similar to when a den den mushi's line got cut off abruptly.'_

Try as he might, none of the words he thinks of could Zoro say out loud.

 _'One Piece! Marines! Grandline! Strawhat-'_

"Pirates!" The green-haired bellowed out suddenly, surprising the redhead standing a few feet away from him. Welf blinked owlishly at Zoro, not expecting the grim-looking man to suddenly shout out like that.

"Pirates? You mean that legendary myth about sea bandits from centuries ago? You must love them to randomly yell out like that.." Responded Welf, half-heartedly. "I read a story book full of them once, when I was a kid." Welf recalled back from his childhood days, as the corner of his mouth lifted up into a soft smile. The both of them look like they were about to say more when they heard the rustling of bushes and the sound of rushing footfalls heading directly towards them.

"Welf-sama!" A little girl's voice breaks through the flowering shrubs before the owner of the said voice come bursting out into sight. A little girl who look like she's not older than 15 rushes over to them and stopping roughly five-feet away. She paused for a several seconds to take in a few mouthful of air. The girl has a short brunette hair, a tiny figure drapped in a white ragged-looking cloak, with a battered rucksack strapped to her back.

She looked as though she just ran a great distance in small amount of time—with that petite and frail looking body—it wasn't a surprise that she's completely beat to even say another word. Gathering her breath together, she opened her mouth to speak again, at that time she finally realized the redhead was not alone and gawked awkwardly at the extra company for a second. Golden cat eyes lingered over the single line on Zoro's left eye. Realizing that she might have been staring a little bit too long for comfort, she tries to break the silence in the air.

"Eh who are you?" The fragile looking being adressed Zoro before another thought crosses her mind—something much more important than the identity of the stranger, or more precisely, someone. Immediately, she swung her bright-coloured eyes towards the redhead. "Ahh that's not important right now! Welf-sama, Bell-sama is in danger! Goddess-sama got kidnapped and Bell-sama went alone to save her!" Rushed out the girl in a single breath, face creased with concern.

"What?! Damn, sorry but I have to go now, Roronoa-san! Quick now! Lead the way, Lili-suke!" Barked Welf as he rushes after the girl, running past all the tree barks and moving deeper and deeper into the woods. Their figures gradually grows further and smaller until eventually they are gone from Zoro's sight.

"What was that about?" Zoro huffed, feeling much more dumbfounded than before. He began scanning his surrounding for something he can take a seat on. Single black pupil darting around randomly, scanning the open area. Conveniently his eye lands on an appropriately-shaped boulder. As Zoro saunters over to it, his mind was already on some place else.

 _'Another rainbow mist? What about the others? We could mention things and people from our world back then, this has never happened before. It seems like I just got myself into a little bit of a trouble, and the timing couldn't possibly be any worse too.'_

Zoro attempts to make sense of his situation. All Zoro could remember was he and the others are very well on their way to Zou with Trafalgar Law and the samurais in tow—to be regroup with Chopper, Nami, Sanji and Brook. Skip the picture to the feast Zoro had the night before, a celebration on taking down the Donquixote Family as well as the formation of the Straw Hat's Grand Fleet. He drank, he had a blast, he past out, and the next time he woke up, he's in a foreign place surrounded by more foreign people.

 _'One of the Yonkos is onto us, Kaido of the Beast. How did I end up here? It's not a good time to be separated after being reunited only just a few weeks ago. Damn.'_

Zoro sighed for the umteenth time that day. Standing up, he decided he might as well pay this adventurers' town—that Welf mentioned, the Livira, a visit after all. As Zoro was walking the trail leading into the woods, his body suddenly make a complete 90 degree turn to the west.

* * *

"Dungeon, he said. Ehh, where did this light come from, then?" Continuing his march into the forest, Zoro is absolutely clueless that he's moving farther and further away from his destined place. The rustle of the stale leaves on the earthy ground fly up with every shuffle of his feet, towering trees surrounding him as Zoro continued his walk through the woods. About a mile and half into the wilderness, Zoro picks up the sound of streaming water. Remembering that he hasn't had a sip of water since he woke up in this place, Zoro's throat feels a bit croaky and he thirst for something to moisten it. Zoro skips onto a tree's top, high enough to see where the source of sound came from.

Eye sharp like silver lightning narrowed to a slit—it's the first time Zoro gets a clear view of the forest—for what he saw up there made the green-haired swordsman paused in his steps for a second. Zoro absorbs the scenery around him, whilst taking a leap from a tree to tree, the thought about a river and the town forgotten as he is now jumping around aimlessly.

 _'Is this place really a dungeon? It's about the size of an island! And it's closed up from each side by this huge wall of-'_

"No way!" Zoro could be heard taking an involuntary sharp inhale of breath, with a jolt of surprise in his voice. He then darts over to the soaringly high barricades to take a closer look, and he almost couldn't believe his eyes.

"Crystals." Zoro whispered to himself, deeply impressed, but what astonished him further is the sight above of him. Zoro angled his head facing upwards only to see what must be millions of crystals staked up together onto the dome-like ceiling of the place. Formations that look like icicles just hanging from the ceiling like some kind of chandelier. A truly astounding sight, a feast for his eye.

"I see, I guess that's where the light comes from. Nami would be driven mad by this sight." Zoro stated humourlessly as he ran his hand through his dishevelled hair. Turning his body around to face the forest once more, bewildered eye stare far off into the distance.

 _'Just what is this place?'_

* * *

"The magic item, Hades Head." A young man observed, "Splendid work, Asfi." Praised the deity to his favourite person. Hermes' short blonde locks fluttered in the soft breeze. A pair of bright amber-coloured eyes anchored on a particular person standing in a great distance. Those brilliant orbs looks like they have a mind of their own and could swallow you whole like a wildfire if you ever get too close. On good days, they shone red, like two blazing fires entrapped in two cases of glass. Though the fiery eyes, everything else about the young god screams calm and soothing. From the relaxed downturn of his shoulders, quiet amused sighs, the permanent upward curve on the corners of his lips, bend up knee with his right arm casually draped over it. The blonde god sat—perched comfortably—on the ledge of a cliff about thirty-feet tall jump. Sharp eyes staring down at the commotion unfolding below. The boy is getting a senseless beating from other adventurers, they are all ganging up on him.

 _'Poor kid, a Little Rookie, as they call him but I won't lift a finger to help him. Not yet,'_

Hermes donned on a well-made dark green tunic with a vertical stripe of light brown tone on the middle front of his clothing. A slim belt clasped around his thin waist, plain red scarf wrapped prettily around his neck, his hands protected by a pair of black leather gloves. He also wears a pair a combat boots and a mustard coloured breeches. His look is completed by a cavalier hat with a single long white feather.

"You have some nasty hobbies." Retorts the girl to her blonde godfather. "Do you have something against Bell Cranel?" Asfi openly asked, for the two of them are the only people on the top of the rock hill. Short, aqua blue hair nestled atop her head, with a pair of dark blue—with the lightest tint of greys—eyes staring at the back of the young god's head behind the frame of glasses she wears.

"No. You could say this is my way of showing love." Hermes replied in his easygoing voice, head tilted to the side for a second as if to feigned innocent before turning his attention back to the said boy.

"Bell-kun doesn't know enough about the ugly side of humanity. Nasty of not, I wanted him to learn about people." He continued, before the upturn of his lips slowly dissolved into a real soft smile as he closed his eyes. "I won't deny that part of it is for entertainment, though." Hermes joked, lifting his shoulders up just slightly. As if she anticipated her godfather's last sentence, Asfi let out a why-do-I-even-try sigh.

"And if his fangs are broken here?" The blue-haired woman continued prodding her godfather with questions. Hermes let out—what sounded like half-sighing and half-laughing before turning around to stare Asfi right in the eyes.

"That means he was never right for this place." Hermes finished his words as Bell's body once again hit the ground hard.

* * *

He jumped and delivers a round-house kick to the left side of his face, destroying the device—Hades Head—that was making him invincible. A man, looked to be in his early 30s appeared out of thin air right in front of him. Bell, throughly worn out from getting a beating from the previously invisible man, couldn't push the man away when the man dashed towards him with the broken sword Bell shattered when their metals clashed earlier. He used the last bit of his strength when he performed that high kick.

"Stop it!" Someone yelled out. At the far corner of Bell's eyes, a silhouette of a young girl with twin tails is running towards him, followed by other few figures of people who he recognized as his party members, Lili and Welf.

 _'Goddess-sama? She's safe... They must have saved her while I was keeping the others busy. I'm really glad.'_

The goddess' cry for halt was ignored and her favourite godchild was still in the danger of an incoming horrendous slash. Adventurers doesn't respect her as much as they would other gods and goddesses, and Hestia understand that. Hestia is a poor deity, with only a few believers and even fewer people in her familia. Everyone knows that a god's power and influence is stronger with more people worshipping the grounds they walk on and with more hearts and souls are devoted to them.

"I said stop!" The girl cried out to the crowd of people, only to be ignored once again. She is left with no other choice than to break the taboo, for she knows that is the only way other beings will directs their attention to her and this is the only way to save her Bell.

 _'Forgive me Lord Zeus for breaking your second rule.'_

"Enough." The pressure dropped in the vicinity and every outcry of a fight was cut off. "Children, sheath your swords." Goddess Hestia released her divine power, making everyone stop in their tracks out of pure shock. A few individuals was immediately down on their knees, head bowed respectfully, as she walks past them. It is a very rare moment for a deity to unleash their true form to the eyes of mortals. Bell fell on his behind like a bag sack of beans, utterly grateful his goddess is safe and sound but also taken aback by his goddess' true appearance. Realising that they are outpowered with the arrival of Goddess Hestia, the random group of adventurers causing the commotion earlier ran with a tail between their legs and that was the end of Hermes' entertainment for the day.

Or so he thought.

* * *

 **A/N: YEP I GOT A LITTLE LAZY AT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER IF YALL NOTICED. I HOPE IT WASN'T OUT OF CHARACTER OF ZORO TO COMPARE HIS VOCAL CORDS TO THAT OF A DEN DEN MUSHI'S. I KNOW THAT ZORO IS NOT DUMB, BUT HE DOES TEND TO BE A BIT DENSE SOMETIMES. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, IF IT'S NOT TO MUCH, PLEASE LEAVE ME WITH YOUR THOUGHTS. SEE YOU NEXT TIME!**


	4. Chapter 3

**_[EDITED]_**

 ** _FLOOR BOSS GOLIATH_**

 ** _CHAPTER 3_**

Just as Zoro decided to take an afternoon nap on one of the many branches that could support his weight, a sudden earthquake began to shake the whole vicinity, successfully interupting his plan for a brief rest. Shortly followed after that, a malicious aura begins to looms over the forest threateningly, it's nature enormous and violent. The shaking of ground grows worsen, shimmering of lights coming from the crystals becomes gradually fainter, until it diminished completely. Darkness suddenly envelops Zoro's surrounding—darker than any night he has ever seen.

"Interesting, and here I thought nothing exciting would ever happen. What are you?" As if his question was a signal for the monster to show itself, fractures begin to form on the towering walls. Cracks begin to spread in shape of a spider web and break apart the surface. The upper limit of the dungeon—where the large collection of crystals lies—shatters and smashed to smithereens as it rained and crashes down to the earthy ground. A flock of huge birdlike creatures that Zoro saw earlier takes flight into the sky while screeching in fright, as if they were trying to escape from something that is yet to come, not only fleeing to seek protection from the still shaking area.

At that moment, a fiend looking titan fell through the opening in the ceiling, once again shaking the space and causing a huge tremor in the heart of people below. The size of the being perceptibly grows larger than expected as it continues falling through the sky. It's figure plunged into the earthy ground, creating a huge crater in place.

"Whatever the hell that thing is, I want to cut it!" Zoro grinned a devilish look, a fearsome sight for most people back in Grandline—one look from the swordsman would glue you on the spot and make you start sweating profusely. His eye seems to darken lavishly, a feat that should be impossible when your irises are already black in colour but somehow Zoro managed to make it possible. An eager look etched upon his face, the likes of a wild animal waiting for a release of pent up energy. Granted, the titan's size is not even half the size of what Pica was but Zoro sensed the atmospheric around it is a lot more sinister and disturbing than one of the top three executives of the Donquixote Pirates.

Zoro realized that the arrival of the giant has made the animals in the forest to grow much more vicious too. A hairy beast rammed into the tree Zoro is still resting on, as if sensing his presence on it. A feral wolf appeared abruptly below his tree from Zoro's point of view, it let out a growl and barks furiously at the shadowy figure obscured by the darkness on top of the tree that is known as Roronoa Zoro. After a good minute of incessant barkings, the beast seemed to has realised that it's yap and snarls aren't making the silhouette of person move down from the tree, and so cleverly it resorts to using a different method. All of a sudden, a blaze of fire starts swirling inside the wolf's gaping maw.

"What the hell? That thing can shoot fireballs with its mouth?!" Zoro exclaimed out loud in shock before he leaps down from the tree and with a quick work using one of his swords, the monster known as a hellhound was cut clean in half before it can even project it's burning eject.

 _'This is too easy, honestly.'_

Zoro's enhanced sense detected the presence of other wild beasts around him, each of them starts closing in on Zoro. Out of the corner of his eye, Zoro saw the form of various creatures slowly and deliberately start to come out from their hiding places, behind the trees.

A gargantuan hairy spider crawls forward getting into his sight, it's beady eyes ogling Zoro, fangs opening and closing in a pinching movement.

 _Tick. Tick. Tick._

In one quick motion, the spider let out an ugly screech as it jumped up and shoots out a web string from it's behind towards Zoro. With quick reflexes, Zoro leaned forward and make an upward slash, shredding the threads into two and without pausing any of his movements, Zoro charges head-on towards the still in air eight-legged creature.

At the same time, a gathering pack of wolves seemed to have managed to sneak around him and also jump over in the split of a second toward Zoro from the same direction as the spider, with their maw wide open and teeth bared—looking razor sharp.

" **Baki**." Zoro delivers a powerful vertical slice towards his eight-legged opponent—without a pause in his quick steps—he then send out a sideways slash towards the canine monsters' airborne figures.

Zoro's proficiency with swords has successfully severed all of them into two meanwhile leaving an ugly, deep open gash in the shape of a cross on the body of the spider. Zoro's slash went halfway through the giant hairy carcass, he can see the insides of the creature. A dead body, a waste, is what Zoro thought of it as he was sheathing one of his beautiful swords before something gleaming inside of the monster's carcass caught his eye.

Thinking nothing of it, he smoothly dug it out from the mass of organs in one breath. He didn't make a mess and worked swiftly. There in his hand is a purplish-red looking crystal. It's about half the size of his palm and it reflected a weak glint in the dark as Zoro turned it over in front of his good eye to study it. He then reached his hand into his open long-coat and placed it inside a small opening within his clothes.

 _'What, a ruby gemstone? I can use this to pay off a little bit of my debt to that witch, tch. Poor thing ate this without knowing the value of it, huh?'_ He quietly let out a sigh, as to lament his own fate.

Shortly after that, the monster's body that only recently had its heart removed by the swordsman began twitching before dead silent follows. Zoro noticed that the pigmentation on the spider's flesh seem to fall out, then in the next instant, the legs collapsed one by one in an obscured manner, and finally at the end of it, the entire body turned into ash and disappear into the air without a trace. Baffled and perplexed by the strange occurrence he witnessed, Zoro furrowed his straight eyebrows in great distaste.

The only evidents of what had just happened indeed took place were the crystal in his inner breast pocket and the blood splattering on the ground. So it is almost safe to say this was not a work of an illusion. As Zoro was about to start contemplating his situation again, he lightly shook his head and make a grab at his emerald green hair with his left hand.

"Ahh, whatever. This ought to be a good opportunity for a warmup, right?" Zoro then grips tightly onto one of his swords' hilt. He can feel it, the cursed child out of all his swords, Sandai Kitetsu, is ceaselessly screaming for blood too. A chill ran through Zoro as he try to push down the flaring excitement at the thought of possibly encountering a strong foe in the dark forest.

Zoro hacked and slashed through the monsters. They fell apart easily, painful yelps and whimpers could be heard across the trees. These monsters are fairly weak and he could hold most of them down at the same time easily, disappointment starts bubbling up in his chest. A twinge of annoyance is gradually rising in him as well, no matter how many time Zoro dices them up, the numbers of them doesn't dwindle down. On the contrary, even more monsters show up and gathered around him, trapping him inside a wide circle made out of ferocious beasts.

By now, these creatures should already be able to tell how easily Zoro singlehandedly outclassed every monster on that floor. After all, animalistic instinct is much more keen than that of a human, they should have been prioritising their survival and avoid such a strong opponent that they cannot win against even with numbers. However, they seemed to have lost any sign of intelligent in those violent looking eyes. Bewildered by this odd behaviour coming from the monsters, Zoro decided to flee the scene, he jumps onto a tree and skips away into the blackness of the forest.

As Zoro was avoiding other feeble monsters to go look for a bigger prey, he could hear the giant's thunderous roar from a distance, and a crack of devious smile immediately forms on his face, almost splitting his face apart. Zoro skids around the trees to make a dash to the site.

* * *

" **Firebolt!** " Yelled out a boy in a distant. A gushed shaft of blue light fired off from his palm, colliding with the destructive howl of the awful beast, which created a huge blast of air.

As the dust clears out, the eerie sight of the monster—or what's left of it—left the people silent for a while. The upper half of its face is completely obliterated, while its jaw is left agape. For a second everything was still, hope begins to glimmer in some of the adventurers' hearts. They truly thought they had defeated the monster but then—without warning—the monster returns to life. Its mouth stretched into a wide menacing grin. A gleaming blue light builds up in his jaw, radiating into life until it takes the form of a glowing light sphere.

"Bell, run!" Shouted a figure in a green cloak to the young man, who is supposedly Bell. The howl pulverized everything in its path, creating a large crater on the ground from the massive force of energy. Perhaps her warning came one second too late or perhaps there was really nothing Bell could've done to dodge that blow, the young man was hurled backwards to a lengthy distance.

Before they all know it, it's face has already restored back to how it was before, that unbelievable regenerating ability would bring shame to any seasoned farmer that are experts at growing plants. Afterwards, the titanic fiend-looking monster raised its hand to strike Bell while the the boy is unguarded and still air bound.

" **Sanbyaku Rokujuu Pound-Ho!** " A blue gust of wind flew across the air before it sliced the huge hand clean through. The monster bellowed out a cry from sudden interruption when a shadow of a man darts into the sky and recovers the unconscious body of Bell. Zoro briefly studies the boy.

 _'Had the strike hit it's target, this boy's bones would have been shattered to pieces.'_

* * *

"Bell.." At the ground below, stood Welf by himself.

 _'I'm not doing anything while Bell is trying his damned hardest to fight that Black Goliath.'_

"Damn it!" His fists are clenched so tight, his knuckles are gradually turning white. Self-remorsed clearly written on his face, when a sudden thought crosses his mind. He looked up once again, trying to identify the silhouette of the person who saved Bell in the line of danger.

* * *

As soon as Zoro laid down the lifeless body of the young man, two figures emerged from the thick woods and rushed towards him. One of them is the same blonde lady with the green cloak, she was on her knees and by Bell's side in an instant. Her companion is another female, the same girl with eyeglasses and a crop of light blue hair, Asfi. Zoro drew back a couple steps and rest his back on a tree trunk to give them space.

Not a minute after that, another two individuals joined up with their little group of three. They both look like a couple of children, one of the girls Zoro recognized as the little girl who ran into him while he was with Welf. They didn't seem to noticed him standing a few feet away, too focus on the boy's condition to pay attention to their surroundings. One of the girl, the raven haired one with a twin tails adressed no one in particular about the boy's wellbeing. Zoro easily came to a conclusion with a quick inspection at the unconscious child's body from his position.

 _'Not good, kid's out cold.'_

"He'll be fine. I can still hear his voice," muttered Zoro aloud, seeing no use in making them worry about the boy even more. Zoro didn't expect the little girl voicing her concern for the boy to turn her whole body around to properly address him.

If judging by her appearance, she looks to be just like any normal child, probably about to enter her teenage phase, but the size of her cleavage says entirely otherwise. The girl facing Zoro is undoubtedly a beautiful girl. Her silky black hair cover her ears and her round immature looking face, her eyebrow-grazing bangs fall tastefully on top of her eyes—the effect seems to make her eyes reveal an off blue light. Her hair is tied up on both side of her crown with silver bells and flower petals, from the looks of it. That body will always leave people in a state of dreamy atmosphere. Though, Zoro was unfazed by this.

"What do you mean by that? Who are you?" Goddess Hestia eyed the green-haired swordsman standing in front of her.

"Just someone taking a walk in the woods when that freak falls through the cracks at the top of this place." Zoro remarked, his back leaning against a tree with both of his arms folded, slightly pressing his scarred chest.

"I'm Hestia, and I want to thank you for saving Bell-kun." The twin-tailed goddess thanked Zoro with teary eyes, utterly grateful and with utmost sincerity coloured in her voice.

"Sure, but you still have to remember that thing is still rampaging out there." Totally taken aback by the intensity of emotions he could read in her eyes. A lovely swirls of blue that seemed to burn and freeze Zoro altogether at the same time. It's as if a blizzard is eternally raging on with a black void in the center that are her pupils. They don't capture light, but defy it. Caught in his thoughts, Zoro missed the silent nod the young goddess gave to the others.

"Please go, Miss Elf. Buy as much time as you can. Bell-kun will wake up, I know it. He'll wake up and defeat that monster! Bell-kun can do it!" The girl directs her attention towards the blonde lady in green cloak. An elf, it was the first time Zoro has ever heard of the name of the said creature, hence the lack of reaction from his part is totally understandable. Zoro missed out the pointy ears hidden by her cloak and mistook it to be just her name. Hestia kneeled down onto the ground and gently lifts Bell's head so she can rest his head on her laps. Zoro lets out a loud sigh and steps closer to the group.

"That's settles it then, leave the monster to me. I can hold it off myself, just make sure that boy wakes up soon." Zoro voiced his intentions while sounding awfully annoyed by this whole situation but if the girls were to turn around and look at him, they would see a wide grin stretched across his scarred face.

"Wait-" Faster than her eyes can perceive, Zoro leaps up onto a tree's branch and skips away from them. The goddess' call for halt was left unanswered as the green-haired swordsman was already gone from her eyesight.

* * *

 **A/N: I WILL LISTEN TO ANY IDEAS YOU HAVE, SO PLEASE DONT BE SHY TO LEAVE YOUR THOUGHTS IN THE REVIEW. IF ANY OF YOU NOTICED, I DECIDED TO WRITE EXTRA DETAILS WHEN IT COMES TO HERMES AND HESTIA'S EYES. I DECIDED TO DO THAT SO PEOPLE CAN SEE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GODS AND ADVENTURERS. BECAUSE THEY CAN LOOK PRETTY MUCH THE SAME, HUMAN AND GODS IN THIS STORY. SO YEAH I ADDED THIS ONE LITTLE FEATURE SO OTHER PEOPLE CAN TELL THEM APART. THANK YOU FOR READING! ENJOY YOUR DAY EVERYONE.**


	5. Intermission

**_HISTORY AND LORE – PART I_**

 ** _INTERMISSION_**

In the dim and distant past, Gods descended from Heaven upon this land—which as they call it, the Lower World. Us, creatures of habit with a limited understanding on things, who are trying to ascend to Heaven, generally think of it as an eternal paradise. The mortals could not comprehend as to why the residents of such holy land would lay visit on these depraved soil. Although there are many different versions throughout history about this legendary tale, there is one that is the most largely acclaimed and well-known compared to other interpretations of what had happened on that day.

"Heaven was too boring, so there's really no helping it."

It was said that the gods were tired of living their blissful eternal life. In order to get rid of their boredom, they decided to leave their divine sanctuary to discover the treasure trove that is the Lower World. These celestial beings is the very definition of a perfect existence. They come from a place that doesn't exist so much as the word sadness within it, even less other ill feelings that is in kind. Perhaps, it could be said that their utmost perfection is in truth what brings inconvenience to the divine beings. After all, would anyone who has never known any hardship be able to thoroughly enjoy the satisfaction of achieving your aim or feel truly content with their life? Hence why they find Heaven to be quite unsatisfactory for them. When everything is simply handed over to you, they start to lose their value.

Correspondingly, the Lower World fill the gods with extreme excitement. The delight that come from witnessing unforeseen events, trying out various cuisines around the world, studying varieties of music and art, and exploring many other special interactions that is in store for them. These ethereal entities want to experience the life as one of the culturally prosperous "children"—which means thosewho resides in the Lower World.

"To stand in the same position and have the same abilities as the children, in order to see things from their perspective."

The Lower World residents of that time, the ancestors, did not refuse nor did they have any objections. In return for their benevolent nature toward the arrival of the gods, they have been bestowed a blessing upon them. The gods gifted the children with an ability so they are also benefiting from this relationship.

As farewell to their uninteresting and monotonous lives, the Gods then completely tear apart the fabric of space between our two worlds and pass through into the lower terrene. Some of the gods have even decided to stay on this world permanently since then.

* * *

From the beginning of an age where it was called ancient, there already exist large cities with advanced civilisation across the world. However, there is only one place in the whole wide land known as the labyrinth city. The dungeon has stood erect with its menacing height since before the gods has descended from Heaven. Although the city was not as massive before, but there were already streets built on top of the dungeon, it was even said that the labyrinth was made by a predecessor of the guild. In short, in ancient times there were already people who cooperated and fought against the monsters without a God's Grace.

What is a God's Grace?

[ **Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this story. All the characters and storyline belongs rightfully to the creators of these two wonderful series. The texts below is directly from the light novel. I thought it would be better to use the author's own words to describe how the mechanism of Danmachi world works. I'm pretty sure I'm violating the rules but only about 80% sure. I can't help it I get lazy... I wanna write about Zoro but I feel obligated to break down the terminology and the chronicle of events that happened in the story to the readers so you all will be able to enjoy and understand the story better, though I can't say everything I wrote down is factually correct because I am just a fan myself lmao. I'm extremely sorry Fujino-san, I mean no disrespect. Shoutout to the ongoing light novel series, it is a very interesting story so do read it!]**

 _God's Grace_

A Gift from God. This is a power that only Gods have and can greatly improve the ability of the target. To Gods, these are visible and can be controlled. It will display your status on your bare back. It is said to be similar to the ancient rituals, that is after defeating enemies, you would be able to get praises and blessings. This power is what the Gods gave to the Lower World humans.

 _Status_

The general abilities have five categories—the categories are strength, endurance, dexterity, agility and magic—each category is represented by ten stages from high to low S, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I. The higher the stage, the more powerful your ability is.

What comes after the rank is the proficiency value. 0~99 is I, 100~199 is H, Generally it is to link the specified formula to basic ability's rank. Also there is a upper limit of 999. The more effort you place on a category, the faster the proficiency rate goes up, working hard to achieve the maximum value 999.

Level is the most important. Even if it is just an increase of one level, your basic abilities will be greatly enhanced. It can also be said to be a huge enhancement mentally and physically.

Once the sacred text on your back has a sufficient amount of Experience Points, a Level Up happens and the ability values rise.

 _Experience Points_

Those are gained through experiencing a variety of events so, just like their name implies, they are based on target's own experiences in life. Of course this is not visible nor could it be created by the hands of a Lower World human. If needed explaining, it is equivalent of the history of your own experiences.

The value of completed events in quantity and quality is the Experience Points.

 _Skills_

Skill and status values are slightly different, they are special effects that are placed onto the body under certain conditions. If a status represents the strengthening of the body, skill is a special reaction happening within the body.

Although it isn't like magic where one can see how amazing it is, the discovery of a Skill is a lot more rare so there are almost none.

Example:

 ** _Roronoa Zoro_**

LV. **XX**

Strength: **S XXX**

Endurance: **S XXX**

Dexterity: **S XXX**

Agility: **S XXX**

Magic: **I 0**

Skill:

 **Immeasurable Pressure**

 _[Awakened Beast]_

• Killing intent inflicts fear/panic on foes

• Effects are illusion and distortion of space

• Increases power and speed stats

 **Limited Precognition**

 _[Kenbunshoku Haki]_

• Foresight on physical move and damage

• Enhanced senses to his surroundings

• Ability to detect life in the vicinity

 **Spritual Armor**

 _[Busoshoku Haki]_

• Augment physical and flying attacks

• Raises endurance by large amount

• Deflects insignificant force

 **Divinely Demon**

[ _Asura]_

• X

* * *

Dungeon is the same existence as the Gods, which created the Lower World humans and races. Yes, it is a living being. However, it being alive not in the way things such as the thick walls attacking opponents, and the terrain of the floors also would not change. As evidence, adventurers would explore and create a map of the floor, and it turn it could be sold to the guild. But as one goes lower, the size of the area will rapidly increase at an unimaginable rate, thus there are many floors that did not have a complete map.

The meaning of alive, indicates that it would repair itself, the structures that were destroyed in the dungeon would automatically repair themselves. It was said that the dungeon was constructed by a material either higher-class or lower-class than the Magic Stones. Only the construction of the dungeon was still not understood by their scholars until now, it was stopped at the point of the phenomenon occurring.

 _Magic Stone_

From monsters, one can obtain crystals filled with magic. All in all, these crystals is said to contain incredible powers, and it could be used to exchange money at the guild.

A Magic Stone is treated as a precious resource. The Labyrinth City itself, only through exporting Magic Stone products to other countries and regions, has earned many benefits. However in these circumstances, instead of saying the Labyrinth City, it would be more correct to say it was the guild that has achieved these benefits. Also worth pointing out, the larger the Magic Stone, the more the guild will pay.

Just so, other than obtaining loots, collecting crystals is one of the resources of money for an Adventurer.

 _Loot_

Monsters that have their Magic Stones removed will sometimes leave a part of their body in their original shape. It was said that the part that was left behind was usually an abnormally developed location, holding a power that allows it to live independently without Magic Stones—In this situation it should be Magic Power. When the monster was still alive, it must have been a powerful weapon of the monster.

This item could also be exchanged for gold. Especially if it could be used as a material for weapons and armor. The prices were different between items, but usually these things could be exchanged from more money than Magic Stones.

Including the existence of the Magic Stone, the dungeon is filled with mysteries.

There are rumours flying around, some say that the lowest floor in the dungeon leads to hell or the demon world. The gods seemed to know about it, but they do not seem to be willing to tell.

The walls of the dungeon was made out of a material that is similar to the Magic Stone, even if sunlight could not enter the dungeon, it is still very bright. Especially the first floor, the area that could be considered as the ceiling would also emit phosphorescence, thus no matter what time it was, it was bright to an absurd level.

 _Monster_

They were born within the dungeon. Although this may seem like a joke, but in fact, creatures actually crawl out from the walls, like chicks break the shells of the eggs. It was known for many had already witnessed this scene. This was the reason why no matter how many monsters were hunted by the adventurers, monsters would still endlessly appear.

However, each floor could only produce a certain number of monsters. Although, occasionally there would be monsters that run up from the lower floors, or monsters from the upper floors headed downwards, but normally, the monsters would be fixed to the corresponding floor, which they had appeared from. Incidentally, the rule was basically: the lower the floor, the stronger the monster.

The location that connects the upper and lower floors would sometimes have stairs, sometimes large down slopes, all in all, there was a lot of possibilities. But no matter how many possibilities there were, there would not be an absurd thing like instant movement. But this should be logical, because even Gods could not do such a thing. The monsters are the same, the could only rely on their own legs to move around in the dungeon.

The monsters are only created within the dungeon. Therefore, the management authority—as in the Guild—was created early during the ancient times. Even though many personally believe that the reason for the guild's existences was mainly due to the benefits it could obtain from the dungeon.

 _Guild_

The guild is an organisation that manages Familia within Orario and provides services to adventurers. The guild is succeeded from a group of people who fought the monsters without a God's Grace in the old tales.

The main goal of the Guild is to administer the safety of the city from possible threats such as the monsters escaping from the dungeon. Aside from this, the Guild buys Magic Stones, dropped goods, and maps created of the floors of the dungeon. They also supply weapons and armor to new adventurer who are just starting out.

This organisation's staff also takes thr position of advisors for adventurers, often suggesting at what depth an adventurer they are assigned to should go in the dungeon in accordance to their level and skills, as well as warning them of any special dangers of certain floors and how to prepare against them.

* * *

 **A/N: I AM SO SORRY FOR THE INTERMISSION I KNOW YOU GUYS WANNA KNOW WHAT HAPPEN TO ZORO AND BELL. I HAD ORIGINALLY LOST INTEREST IN THE STORY BECAUSE I DIDN'T HEAR ANY UPDATES ON THERE BEING ANOTHER SEASON OF DANMACHI.. BUT IN 2018 I FINALLY RECEIVED GOOD NEWS! I REGAINED MY SPIRITS AND SO I THOUGHT 'HEY, WHY NOT READ THE LN IN THE MEANTIME SO I CAN UNDERSTAND THE STORY BETTER?' I WOULD LIKE TO THANK EVERYONE WHO CONTRIBUTED IDEAS ON WRITING THIS NEW CHAPTER. I'M GONNA APOLOGISE ONCE AGAIN FOR ANY GRAMMAR AND SPELLING MISTAKES. IF YOU FIND THE CHAPTER TO BE INSUFFICIENT, IT HAS BEEN A WHILE SINCE I WRITE SO I'M PRETTY RUSTY RIGHT NOW. I WISH FOR NOTHING OTHER THAN TO GIVE YOU ALL MY BEST. I EDITED THE LAST CHAPTER BECAUSE I MADE A MISTAKE THAT ZORO CANNOT DEFEAT THE MONSTERS IN THE DUNGEON WITHOUT A GOD'S GRACE WHICH IS INCORRECT(?). PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG. LASTLY, DO LEAVE A REVIEW IF YOU HAVE ANY SPECIFIC REQUEST ON HOW YOU WANT THE STORY TO PROGRESS IN THE FUTURE AND I WILL CONSIDER IT. CHAPTER 4 IS CURRENTLY IN PROGRESS. HAVE A NICE DAY AND I WILL SEE YOU AGAIN!**

 **PS I DONT THINK I WILL BE MAKING ZORO JOIN ANY FAMILIA. TELL ME WHAT DO YOU THINK OF MAKING HIM AS A SOLO ADVENTURER?**


	6. Chapter 4

**_A LOST GOD? – PART II_**

 ** _CHAPTER 4_**

The mysterious green-haired swordsman's very eagerness to face death left the girls in a state of stupefaction before the exigency of the situation that demands their utmost attention snap them back to what's important at the moment. However, Hestia was a couple steps ahead of them and already has the boy wrapped up in her small—ever so slightly—shaking figure.

She held onto the boy tightly, her hands clasping the boy's pale looking right hand—in a praying pose and how laughable it all was, for a goddess to mimick that posture. Do the gods have any supreme beings above them to pray to as well, perhaps? Slowly, Hestia called out to the boy.

Bell's eyes were hidden behind his white bangs. He looks nothing more than fifteen, his snow-white messy hair sticks up on the sides of his head, his set of eyebrows rest comfortably above his closed eyes. For anyone who didn't know better, they would assume the boy was only sleeping. The small cuts and scrape marks on his face say completely otherwise, including the disarray state of his battle gear. Though his mouth is partially open, he didn't move nor make any respond.

"You can hear them, can't you?! Everyone's fighting against that scary monster!" Hestia spoke out loud to the unconscious boy lying limply on her lap. Battlecries of other adventurers could be heard a distant away.

At the side of the goddess and her child, the bystanders that have been quietly observing the one-sided exchange between the two finally began moving. Mayhaps it was because of the thunderous roar of the monster that just resounded through the forest that caused a chain of reaction out of the two of them. The elf's own sky blue eyes caught another pair of sharp dark cyan-coloured eyes. A simple understanding passed between the two before they give a silent nod to one another. Regaining their composure, both of them disappeared into the thick canopy as they both raced back to the battlefield.

Hestia squeezed both of her hands around Bell's thin fingers. He's not even a man yet. A tragic chorus of weapons clashing and a rowdy of courageous war cries filled the air. Her beloved child that is the only member in her familia, Bell Cranel, is heavily injured and yet she is urging him to join the battle as her eyes beginning to well up with tears.

"You can do it, you're the only one who can! You're the only one who can save them, Bell...!"

Her voice grew more desperate as seconds pass by. She continuously beg him to wake, in hope to stare deep into his pair of bright ruby red eyes once again. The compassion and gentleness that usually shine in earnest in those very same eyes everytime he looks at her. She draws in a deep breath and yell from the bottom of her lungs with all the power she could muster.

"Get up, Bell!"

* * *

Zoro got himself sidetracking again, which is hardly surprising. Since he declared his intention to singlehandedly restrain the Floor Boss—Goliath, to the company of strangers rather pompously, the lost swordsman had only managed to put more distance between him and the rampaging monster. Zoro made his way through the forest, using his haki to detect the easiest trail he should follow in order to avoid any unnecessary confrontation and waste more of his time with weak monsters. His silhouette could barely be seen in the darkness of the forest to normal eyes, but anyone with a keen enough eyesight would be able to glimpse his shadow—reflected by fragments of the fractured into hundred pieces crystals since they fell to the earthen ground—effortlessly slipping through the thick pack of trees.

As he was running through the dense foliage, his light footsteps and the rippling of wind washing over his clothes—because of the rate of speed he's moving at—are the only sound that could be heard. It was as if a sheet of blanket has been cast over the area, covering any if not all sign of lives within it—though unseeing to the eyes. This odd silence has an ominous feeling to it. Zoro didn't pay any mind and continued trying to find his way to the Black Goliath when he encountered it.

The swordsman sensed it way before his eyes caught sight of it. He saw it immediately with his dark eye and without any haste, he sprinted to its side. Wrapped in a plain white cloth that has been dirtied with the ground dust and greenish substances that he himself had often been related to by a certain blonde chef in the past. Just the mere thought of that man-made Zoro clenched his jaw in mild irritation. It was sticking out of a growing carpet of moss, its unguarded hilt protruding high in the air.

* * *

Heavy breathing. Heavy footsteps. Someone was running. Using the subtle glow of the crystals as his only form of guidance to help lead him through. A figure appeared out of the trees as he arrived in a part of the forest he recognized.

"Damn it, Bell, that guy...AHH!" A young man could be heard rather than seen talking to himself, frustation clearly coloured in the tone of his voice, before cutting himself off into an incoherent yell.

He couldn't get the image of the Goliath and the motionless figure of Bell in the air out of his mind. That mysterious persona that easily sliced the monster's arm clean right off. Welf already has a hunch on who that person could be but he couldn't connect the dots, on what kind of relationship does those two possibly have. They couldn't have known one another yet he still protected Bell.

 _'Who is he?'_

All Welf had successfully accomplished to do was stand still and watch. It was funny, in a way. The thought of himself just standing there, frozen like one of those man-made street lights he could find on the surface, as everything takes place. A whirlpool of regret raged within him. The reason Welf has separated away from the group is solely because of one thing.

A weapon wrapped in white cloth he'd received from the goddess Hestia, requested to be sent to him by his own goddess. It also happened to be a weapon that Welf forged himself. He had made it immediately after joining Hephaistos Familia, at his goddess's command. It was his first assignment as a family member. It was the weapon he had thrown off an edge of a cliff a while back because the very sight of it has always filled him with self-loathing. He had sworn to himself to never make another one. The crimson goddess had accepted his decision and come to terms with it, for now. But she did leave him with a few words.

"You will regret not using this power once you have attained something important."

Those words that cut through him like a sharp needle piercing his mind, constantly playing inside his head over and over again like a broken record.

Welf despised magic swords.

They have the ability to give anyone strength—enough power to take down even the most formidable of enemies with a flick of the wrist. They were nothing more than a magical weapon that indulged its user. Magic weapons destroyed his family, the very smiths that forged them, and even their users by rotting them from the inside. But above all else, magic swords would inevitably break and leave their user behind.

Welf loathed magic swords.

"Stop compromising allies for your pride." An image of his crimson-haired and crimson-eyed goddess resurfaced in the back of his mind and consciousness. A hill of trees he'd seen before came into view. He was sure that the weapon had fallen among them and was now lying asleep somewhere in the tall grass. Sleeping, never used by anyone. The hilt, untouched and pure. Not broken, simply at rest.

"Hey, where are you?! Say something!" The red-haired man yelled down the hill as he made his way farther and farther into the woods. The whole situation is quite funny to Welf, as if the sword could rise up from its slumber and answer to his call, though it would certainly make his task a whole lot easier if that were to actually happen. It was much darker in the forest now than he remembered because of the raining blue crystals weather.

"Ironic isn't it? I know, I KNOW! I threw you away and now I'm asking you for help!" Welf knew there was no chance of a response, but he kept screaming at the top of his lungs anyway. His voice breaking a bit at the end of his sentence, the exhaustion from running around the whole time starting to wear him down.

"But there's someone who needs my help! Please let me break you!" Welf helplessly continued. His head was on a swivel as he crisscrossed his way through the dense forest when a soft red glow appeared out of nowhere as if to answer his call. Welf rotated his body around so fast that he almost got a whiplash to the face in order to see what he had hoped was the very object he's been searching for and standing there among the trees—

"Yo. It's you, strawberry. I heard you from a mile away, is this yours by any chance?" Soft red glow illuminated him. The frame of a man could be seen in front of Welf, an overpowering chest exposed to the dark cool air, proudly displaying an eerie scar across his body. The low lighting made it seem as if Zoro just finished bathing in blood.

His left arm stretched out forward towards Welf, in a handing gesture. The ripples of muscles in Zoro's outstretched arm could be seen for the sleeves of his long coat got pulled up slightly and it alarmed Welf in his mind. His presence is certainly a surprise to the red-haired, albeit it was a nice one this time around. His magic sword still covered up in a piece of fabric, Zoro held onto the longsword with one hand without any difficulty despite its weight and length.

"Roronoa-san?! How are you here? No- more importantly, where is Bell? And how did you find this?" Welf didn't voice out his inner doubt about Zoro's little comment. Nor did the red-haired react to the strange nickname given to him.

 _'Heard me? What does he meant by that? Did I really yell that loudly?'_

The white cloth was starting to unravel, exposing the top part of the blade and guard-less handle attached to it. The blade of the weapon pulsed and flickered like a flaming red jewel in his face. Zoro loosened his hold and dropped the longsword on Welf's two extended hands, it fell into his embrace with comfort. Welf swiftly grabbed the hilt and pulled it into the air. Mumbling a short but heartfelt gratitude to Zoro. His rapidly fired questions towards the swordsman half forgotten.

"Ahh, here's the thing. You, could you take me to that giant freak? Damn trees around here keep moving around, I think they're trying to keep me away from it. Tch." Zoro spat out those words, displeasure clearly etched across his face. His offhandedly manner on accusing the trees for his bad sense of direction would usually get some laugh out of his crewmembers.

"Are you planning to fight it as well, Roronoa-san? It's quite dangerous, are you sure about yourself? You just woke up a moment ago," Welf said out of concern for the person in front of him, afterall he did owe the green-haired one for saving the kid in his party when he couldn't have done anything. Resting the weapon on his right shoulder, Welf silently grimaced at this new weight on his shoulders. He gave Zoro and his equipments a once-over. The swordsman did manage to decapitate the arm of that Goliath, that was an impressive feat by itself. He must have an impressive magic sword, the thought crossed over Welf's mind.

The strength of a magic sword—it would shatter as soon as it was used too many times. That was the price for a weapon that wielded the same power as magic. That was its unavoidable fate. It could never become the trusted partner of its user, never experience the good times or the bad. It could never be counted on to be there until the end, always breaking first. That's why Welf hated magic swords.

Magic weapons would abandon their user without fail. Magic swords could never fulfill their duty as a weapon. That was their destiny, and he hated it. It was a pointless and painful sympathy, Welf realised that. While corrupting users and smiths alike, each individual sword could never fill the role of a dependable partner in battle. Therefore, they were left to sleep with no chance of meeting a user who would honestly consider it a valuable partner. As someone who could forge magic swords, Welf felt sorry for them and felt for their pain. Welf was broken out of his inner dilemma when he heard Zoro's next response.

"Don't worry, that ugly freak might just be able to entertain me for a bit." The smirk on his scarred face instilled fear in the young man's heart. Though not for himself, but for the object Zoro has chosen to become his next prey. Hence, Welf raced back up the hill with his magic sword and a company closely following behind him in tow.

* * *

At the far southeast corner of the forest, in a clearing where the hostile battle against the rampaging Goliath was taking place, a group of adventurers had just pulled themselves away from the main forces. They were on the brink of losing their will to fight. A violent beast that no one could stop was on the loose. No matter how many monsters they slew, another one will successfully appear to take its place. The situation was gradually turning hopeless, just as dark as the false night that covered the floor. One person after another raised their voices in despair and threatened to leave on their own.

"No turning tail, ya cowards!" A young man that seemed to be the leader of the group gave out a cry. As it turns out, it was the same group of adventurers that was circling around the white haired rookie and gave the boy a beating a while back before they were stopped by Goddess Hestia. The man whose name is Mord, the same person that had lost to Bell, was the one who stopped them. He looked to be in his mid 30's, with unruly dirty-blonde hair that perks up on all sides of his head. Two long scars were visible on his gruff looking face, one etched on his left cheek, right at the corner of his eye, and the other splayed across his forehead distinctly.

His battle attire includes a fur lining strapped around his neck and the remaining strap crisscrossed over his chest in the shape of X—on top of a body-fitted green shirt, as well as a pair of pitch black gloves. On his shoulder lies a couple layers of armor plates that reached down to his lower arms. A black belt with a sizable golden-coloured metal plate at it's center wrapped around his waist and rests over orange fur cloth and grey leggings. Beneath this outfit, he wears green-chartreuse boots with two stripes of horizontal black line on it.

"The hell are you saying, Mord?! We don't stand a chance against that monstrosity! What's the point in staying?!" Barked out from a nameless adventurer amongst the group, his voice potrayed his uneasiness about the whole situation.

"We fight! Are ya seriously considering running away when all those guys and ladies need our help?!" Mord yelled as loud as he could and pointed toward two desperate figures struggling to keep the Goliath contained. The outline of an elf and a human could just vaguely be seen.

"So yer just goin' to bow out, not doing jack shit?! How the fuck are ya okay with that?!" His passion had turned to anger at that moment, his eyes alight with a flame burning within him. The others just looked at him, unable to understand why he was so passionate. He broke off eye contact with those closest to him and looked around. The adventurers that are strong enough to form a wall were already badly injured. The magic users were holding their own arms in pain. Not sparing even an ounce of sympathy to their pathetic looking state, the man mercilessly unleashed a verbal torrent upon them as they looked back at him with stunned eyes.

"Hey, all ya filthy elves, are y'all just talk?! And you archaic dwarves there—those muscles just for show?!" Wave after wave of insults came out of his mouth. He waved his sword around, taking even more shots at their pride before the adventurers started to climb to their feet and about to protest. All of the commotion caught the attention of a mad beetle monster, and it charged towards him. Mord quickly dispatched it without much difficulty and was about to continue his tirade yet again before suddenly a voice interrupted him, and the figures of two young man appeared from behind the trees surrounding his group and him.

"Ah, we're really getting closer to that thing. You didn't get us lost, Red. Good job," Zoro emerged from the forest with Welf. He could catch sight of the Goliath wilding out in the middle of the clearing. Monsters and adventurers were engaged in an all-out brawl directly in front of him. A strong feeling began to rise up again in Zoro's chest.

"Would you please stop giving me weird nicknames and call me by my actual name, Roronoa-san. And you're the one who got lost trying to walk in a straight line!" The younger man behind Zoro retorted back to him or rather to his impressive wall-like muscular back, easily towering over Welf. His voice was a mix of amazement and incredulousness at how easily the swordsman strayed away from the trail path they were supposed to follow.

"Oi everyone, get out of here if you don't wanna get caught in the next storm. I'm bringing the party over here." Zoro said as he walked forward, in the direction where a huge blaze of battle is taking place. He unsheathed one of his swords, Wado Ichimonji, the sound of metal scraping against metal rang out. Zoro placed the handle in between his mouth and gritted his teeth. Veins slightly popping out on the side of his neck, muscles clenching as his jaw was set. He swiftly drew out the rest of his swords, holding both Sandai Kitetsu and Shusui on each hands with fluid movement, an action that has been practiced a million times over.

 _'What did he mean by that? Wait what—'_

Welf didn't even get to finish his thought before Zoro promptly bursted out into a run with remarkable speed, no—it would be more correct to say he was sprung forward by an unseen force to Welf.

 **"Santoryu: Senhachiju-Pound-Ho!"**

"You crazy bastard—!" Strong wind washed over group, debris flying all over their head from Zoro swinging his swords with such a powerful force. The air itself was compressed into a spiralling projectile, unhindered, flying towards his opponent. The unmistakable chimings of small pieces of metal colliding with one another made a peaceful, musical sound as it rang in their ears. Time stood still for all of them. There wasn't a single adventurer whose eyes remained small as the subtle echoes filled their ears and reached their hearts. Zoro's earrings danced merrily with every quick move he made.

 _Ching. Ching. Ching._

"EHHHHHH—?!"

* * *

 **A/N: I FEEL LIKE MY WRITING SKILL IS NOT AS GOOD AS IT USED TO BE. I HOPE YOU'RE NOT AS DISAPPOINTED AS I AM WITH THIS CHAPTER. IM OPEN IF ANYBODY IS WILLING TO CO-WRITE THIS STORY WITH ME, I WOULD BE EXTREMELY GRATEFUL ACTUALLY. DO REACH OUT. I'LL TRY TO FIND CO-WRITER BY MYSELF OUTSIDE OF THIS WEBSITE AS WELL, HOPE THE READERS WILL HAVE PATIENCE AND STAY WITH ME A LITTLE LONGER. ALSO, APOLOGIES FOR ANY GRAMMAR MISTAKES I MADE IN THIS CHAPTER, HAS ALWAYS BEEN A WEAKNESS OF MINE THAT I CANT SEEM TO GET RID OF… ANYWAYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR FEEDBACKS ON PREVIOUS CHAPTERS, I DECIDED I SHOULD PERSONALLY RESPOND TO EVERY REVIEW LEFT BEHIND BY ALL OF YOU WONDERFUL READERS. I WILL TRY TO FIND MY INSPIRATION AGAIN SO I CAN START GROWING INDEPENDENT FROM THE NOVEL AND WRITE MY OWN COURSE FOR THE STORY. THANK YOU FOR READING AND HAVE A NICE DAY, WILL SEE YOU SOON WITH THE NEXT CHAPTER HOPEFULLY!**

 **Rayray: You were my very first reviewer and let me just tell you how much your words made me happy. You're the reason why I wanna write again, in all honesty, no matter how simple your words were.**

 **Tenshi: The same could be said for you! Thank you for reading, I hope to continue writing a story you will continue to love. I will try to update more often! Yess, I totally agree with you, as a Zoro fan myself.**

 **Scaunders: Hehehe perhaps because they're actually one and the same? Danmachi is the anime adaptation of the LN you mentioned. Thank you for your kind words, I wish to make a good story out of it!**

 **Anonarra: Same could be said for me! Yes yes, I know exactly what you're talking about. That shot of reactions from the people around after watching Zoro take down Pica gave me chills during the first time I watched it. I already have a plan for that, but I'm not sure how the readers will take it but oh well, let's worry about that on another day. The name of the anime is Danmachi! And I do not have an update schedule unfortunately.. Thank you for being so helpful, much appreciated!**

 **Traveling-imagination: I hope to keep the readers interested in the story though idk if the readers being confused is a good thing. All you have to do is keep reading to find out. There's a reason for that, I will reveal it later. Thank you for your time!**

 **Alucard Bellsing: Ding ding ding. Request granted! Thank you, Im glad you enjoyed it.**

 **Zaralann: Thank you for reading! Hope you are still interested in the story.**

 **Grim24: My apologies, and I completely agree. I need to write longer chapters I realised that, and I do take my sweet time just to update a short chapter.. I will try to improve myself! Thank you for reading the story and leaving a review!**

 **ENDDRAGON369: I decided to give Zoro some action but let Bell take the credits, hope this is okay with you. Thank you for your review!**

 **Wolfkid/Just a wolf/Wolfking: I'm extremely sorry it took me such a long time to update. Zoro will definitely interact with the characters from Danmachi, and about that.. I haven't decided yet whether I should make Zoro into a 'God' or not. A fake god perhaps. Thank you for your time! Omg I think you're actually one of my early readers. He will probably join a party but I don't see him ever serving under anyone else other than Luffy.**

 **Random guy: I'm glad you did and I hope I fulfilled your imagination hehe. Request granted, I did try to make up Zoro's stats but idk if I want to include it in the story.**

 **IAmPedobear: Thank you for your kind words, I don't plan on making Zoro go all out. I don't think he will ever get to fight his full strength in this world hmm. But yeah I agree, Zoro is way too OP so I have to make things a bit inconvenient for him, I will reveal it later in the story! Stay tuned! Your username kinda worry me lol!**

 **Joseph Orellana: I will try, oh faithful reader-san~ Thank you for reading and for your patience.**

 **Ronel Templo: But I'm lazeeeeeyeyyyy. I decided to split the action so everyone get their moment to shine, hope you're okay with that!**

 **King of fans: Thank you for your time! I agree on your last statement, pirates disregard all rules, hence Zoro will be going against a God's will much later in this story. Yes, Zoro will be getting lost a quite a lot! Silly man!**

 **Redgreen: I haven't made up my mind on whether I want Zoro to join any Familia or not yet. But thank you for your suggestion! Hope you will keep reading the story.**

 **Wildman9002: But that will interrupt the original plot of the story hmmm, I gave him some action though! Hope you like it and thank you for your time! And I will have him as a solo adventurer! Request granted.**

 **Rac95: Thank you so much, that's a nice thing of you to say. I appreciate it and I will consider your words on how the story will progress in the future. Do continue reading and leave any of your thoughts!**

 **Apostle-of-Darkness: I'm not gonna lie, that does sound like fun. However, I plan to make him interact with Welf often, idk I just feel like I would love to see the two of them discuss over swords. Thank you for leaving a review! Hope you will continue reading this story.**

 **SuperSaiyanDemon: Thank you for welcoming me back and for your support as well! I hope I can write a good enough story that will keep all the readers entertained! Thank you!**

 **Tarrangar/Guests: Oh dear, well thank you very much for clarifying things up for me! I'm a new reader to the LN so I don't really understand how it works but your explanation really helped me to see it under a new light! I will take your words into consideration while writing more chapters to come. Thank you for explaining it to me so I can get a better grasp on the mechanism of Danmachi's world. I realised that Zoro will be too OP in this world, so I decided to give him a handicap but it will all be explained later in the story. Hope you will enjoy this chapter!**

 **Kerrowe: That will be a foreshadow to my plan for Zoro's future purpose in Danmachi world. I will reveal it much later in the story though. Yes Zoro definitely wasn't trying hard enough, he hasn't taken any of his opponents seriously since the timeskip so far, hence why the easygoing attitude he has in this story. Don't want to spoil much but he will definitely be interacting with the characters from this world a lot. Thank you for reading and I hope you will like this chapter as well! Deeply appreciated your words!**


	7. Chapter 5

**_A MAN'S HONOUR INTERRUPTED_**

 ** _CHAPTER 5_**

A great roar resounded through the forest once more.

It is starting to become a repetitive occurrence today. Soft tinkling of the wind chimes could be heard halfheartedly like a lullaby all the way across the not-so-barren land. The crystalised sound gently echoed, even in the midst of heated engagement between adventurers and the Goliath—in between the bloodcurdling cries of approval coming from the fighters and a full, deep, prolonged howl of pain and anger from the Goliath. The flying slash technique Zoro had flourishingly sent out, launched straight ahead and ploughed through its enormous build, successful cleaving its right shoulder. The slash continued downwards until it fully cut through the whole right side of its physique and separated it from the rest of its body.

The Goliath leaned back to balance itself on one leg and roared toward the ceiling as it fell on its back. The crushing impact on the earthen ground was powerful enough to throw the bodies of the adventurers surrounding it into the air—as if they weighted like nothing. Its roar was a much higher pitch than before as well, summoning all monsters still alive in an instant. The sound carried to the far corners of the floor—and the monsters responded accordingly to its wish. Another wave of monsters arrived, surrounding the Goliath in a protective circle while growling at their prey, as if to buy time so it can regenerate its missing limbs. The Goliath seemed to have realised a threat had appeared and summoned more monsters to its cause. A rank of the adventurers and monsters collided once more in a fierce fight for survival. The floor boss couldn't pinpoint from where the assault had arrived from and was content to just restore its body back to its original form.

"I'm over here, you ugly mug! Stop causing trouble for people. Even from here, I can see that you're about just as ugly as that stupid love-cook," A low grunt could be heard from a range, hiding inside a whirl of dust. Zoro gritted his sword in between his teeth while staring right ahead. The crisp sound of footfalls, the friction between the bottom of someone's footwear scraping against the ground could be heard.

The Goliath swerved its head to the side, facing toward the voice. It deliberately moved forward at the sound of it. Its red glare now a few shades lighter, the beast set its sights solely on the man standing in the southern plain.

"The Goliath...!"

"Has it recognised him as its enemy?"

"Who is he?!"

Numerous shouts for answers repeatedly resounded through the air by Mord's group. The area around the man had become a widespread brawl between Mord's adventurers and the surviving monsters and the giant was heading right for it with widely opened eyes.

The blue-haired girl, Asfi Al Andromedo, that had been progressively holding back the Goliath with the Elven girl, who is called Ryu Lion, watched in shock as the Goliath completely ignored her and Ryu's attacks. Meanwhile, the elf was in hot pursuit, doing her best to avoid the small quakes the monster was making as it ran. Her eyes locked onto her target.

"We must help. He can't possibly take down a floor boss by himself. The Goliath has been rampaging enough!" Ryu yelled out to her blue-eyed companion with no waver in her voice. The Goliath paid her no attention as it quickly galloped along on its short, stubby legs.

Even from a distance, Welf and Mord's group could feel the impact of its might everytime the dark hulking figure stomped its feet on the ground trying to reach its new destination, as the frame of the figure that managed to hurt it started to surface from the heavy cloud of debris. Anything and anyone that is stupid enough to stand in its path were swatted aside like a fly or propelled skyward with each swing of its monolithic fists. Self-preservation instincts had taken over as all of them desperately scurried away for safety, trying to widen the gap as much as possible between them and the black giant in a futile attempt to escape. Through it all, the giant's pair of red hateful eyes followed Zoro's figure that had emerged from the wreckage with malicious gaze.

Zoro returned the unrelenting glare with comparable ferocity while continuing his march before he lowered his gaze to properly inspect the physical structure of his opponent. Its enormous size is a match for a certain race in Grandline. Though it has a rather stout figure compared to actual giants that have the appearance of enlarged humans, with about the same proportions and features. Its short but thick legs made up about 60 percent of its total height. Its wide muscular chest looked as hard as granite. It is constantly slouching forward and like a curtain, long white hair covers about halfway down to its back. After finishing his analysis, Zoro focused back his eye to its two blood-coloured eyes.

In the next instant, the Goliath leaned toward the ground and set off an explosion from its maw. A sonic boom erupted from between its gaping mouth before the blast launched everything in its path into the air along with huge grassy chunks of the floor. All Zoro could do was watch as bodies of the people caught in the storm rained down and hit the ground in front of him. His one eye enlarged in a silent outrage as it darkens considerably and Zoro dashed forward with impressive agility to meet the blow of its swinging fist head on.

* * *

Her voice reached him. The voice of the goddess whom he loved and respected more than anyone else reached Bell Cranel's consciousness in the deepest, and darkest corner of his mind. He couldn't feel his body, and yet there was a powerful warmth surrounding a right hand that didn't exist.

Bell could feel his "teeth" grinding in response to the goddess's repeated, tearful cries. They carved their way through the darkness, drawing him out. His soul ignited. Hestia's flame, one more time. His body came back into existence, twitching. He could see the light at the end of the darkness. All that was left was to stand. Out of the darkness, to the other side of the light. To the place where the goddess's voice was calling him. His body still would not move on command, so Bell focused on the warmth enveloping him. Despite his best efforts, his body would not move or even quiver in the direction of the light.

 _'Dammit!'_

The boy screamed at his body, fully knowing that it was at its physical limit—and then.

"If...if you have what it takes to be called a hero—" Another voice cut through the darkness.

* * *

A tiny figure tries to stop the Goliath's advance, Ryu fought her way through the blasts of wind that erupted whenever its enormous feet hit the ground before she lined herself up beside it and hit one of its knees with all of her strength. The beast quickly lost its balance—a low center of gravity and high speed were not a good combination. The wide-eyed Goliath fell forward and hit the great plain with a thunderous bang. The ground cracked on impact, sending a thick cloud of dirt into the air. The Goliath's face morphed into an expression of disbelief as all of its limbs were on the ground for the second time.

At the same time, the sound of someone gracefully landing on land came from behind her. Zoro had just taken a great leap off the the ground to receive the blow from the giant when two figures shortly arrived and had attacked the monster from its defenceless behind, managing to catch it off guard. Turning her head slightly aside, she caught the figure of the mysterious swordsman that had offered to fight off the Goliath before subsequently disappearing and leaving the task of holding it down to the two beautiful women—though with much struggle—then showing up again from out of nowhere and displaying such a clear dominance over the giant monster. She narrowed her eyes in suspicions toward Zoro's disturbed expression.

"Oi. What do you think you're doing interrupting me like that, woman?" Zoro already sheathed his Meito: Shusui and Sandai Kitetsu into their respective scabbards. He then grabbed the white hilt of his other Meito: Wado Ichimonji and removed it from in between his teeth. He performed a simple chiburui, which is an act of swiftly cutting the air motion as to make sure all unwanted gunk will fly off the blade before resting the back of his blade on his left shoulder. His eyebrows raised in a challenging manner, and a harmless glare was directed at her. Zoro's green hair was slightly tousled and his other hand is hidden beneath his green haramaki.

"Did that actually happen...?!" A voice interrupted their competitive glaring contest and successfully cutting off any reply the Elven girl was about to give.

Asfi had finally caught up and gotten close enough to see that they have an extra company. Shaking off a sense of awe at what she'd just seen, Asfi moved in to start her own attack. The floor boss was already starting to raise itself off the ground. However, the two women showed their opponent no mercy. Face, hands, shoulders, thighs, and back—Ryu's wooden sword and Asfi's daggers struck every possible target with blinding speed. The Goliath's rage increased as it roared out in pain. Forgetting its original target for the moment, the Goliath swung all of its limbs around as if trying to swat the world's strongest mosquitoes out of the sky. It even used its howls in an attempt to keep them at bay. Seeing the giant thrashing around in desperation, Ryu started to cast a spell.

"—Distant sky above the forest. Limitless stars set into an eternal night."

"This is why all women are annoying. They never know when not to butt in on other people's business. Tch." He gave out a loud sigh, an image of a certain nosy Navy Captain floated around in his mind, souring his mood because her image is starting to get tangled up with his memory of Kuina. Throughly annoyed with the whole situation, he tightened his grip on the handle of his sword and Zoro let out a tiny fraction of his killing intent into the air.

Though ineffective on the two prominent figure and the giant Goliath, seeing as they were not his actual target. The lower tier monsters surrounding the area started to froze on their feet and gradually losing the will to fight. Making it easy for other adventurers to dispatch quite a number of them. Meanwhile, she continued her assault on the Goliath as the spell came from her lips. A bewildered Asfi watched as the elf continued to attack the beast even faster than she could while focusing on her Magic. Simultaneous high-speed combat and Magic: "Concurrent Casting."

"Listen to my feeble voice and grant the protection of starlight. Bestow the light of mercy upon those who have abandoned you."

It would not be an overstatement to say that magic required a tremendous amount of concentration and verbal enunciation to trigger. High output—a magic's power was rated by the length of the spell. The longer the spell, the more powerful the magic. Therefore, all magic users needed to stand in one place and focus all of their attention into reciting their spell. However, Ryu was reciting a spell and attacking at the same time. The slightest slip of the tongue could result in Ignis Fatuus, and yet here she was attacking, moving, dodging, and casting at a blistering pace. Even to a top-class adventurer such as Asfi, it was extremely impressive. The amount of mental stamina and courage required to pull this off was enormous, not to mention knowledge of close-quarters combat and rhetorical expertise. Executing a combat style that even the Sword Princess wouldn't dare attempt, Ryu kept up a strong physical assault while continuing to cast her magic.

* * *

"Hermes?!" A twinge of surprise could be detected in the goddess's sweet voice that appeared along with the voice of another deity being. Bell knew that voice, those words, that echo—he remembered them.

"It's not someone able to draw a sword, or someone willing to raise a shield, or someone who heals others." Those were words he'd heard long ago. Back when he was very young. Words that shaped who he would become. Words from a divine messenger, a voice from his past—his grandfather's.

"Only someone who's willing to risk it all can be called a hero." The voice of the god wavered until slowly it dissipated and became that of his grandfather's.

"Protect your allies. Rescue the ladies. Put yourself on the line." A new light rose through the darkness, taking the form of his grandfather, his important figure from the past.

"It's okay to break, to lose heart, to cry out in pain. The one to claim victory in the end always emerges from the defeated."

The boy remembered. He remembered it all. Bell remembered the words that those smiling lips said next.

"Follow through on your dream, shout it out for everyone to hear. The one who does—"

' _That's the one who—'_

"—the one who does becomes a glorious hero."

and he awakened.

* * *

 **A/N: THERE YOU GO, SHORT CHAPTER BUT THE SECOND ONE THIS WEEK. IDK I FEEL LIKE IM DRAGGING THE DAMN FIGHT BETWEEN THE GOLIATH AND ZORO WHEN HE COULD EASILY ONE SHOT THE BOSS AND BLITZ THROUGH ALL THE FLOOR MONSTERS BUT THEN AGAIN, WHERE IS THE FUN IN THAT? IM BUILDING UP THE DRAMA FIRST. BTW NO SANJI HATE, I LOVE THE RIVALRY BETWEEN THE TWO AND SO THATS WHY I ADDED THAT LITTLE COMMENT ABOUT SANJI. I MISS HAVING BOTH ZORO AND SANJI TOGETHER IN THE SAME ROOM AGAIN SO MUCH. PLEASE GODA, GRANT MY WISH. DO LEAVE YOUR THOUGHTS IN THE REVIEW, I ACCEPT ANY CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM AS IT WILL HELP ME IMPROVE MY WRITING FOR THE BETTER, AS WELL AS ANY SPECIFIC REQUEST ON HOW YOU WANT THE STORY TO PROGRESS. THANK YOU FOR READING! BTW, DO PEOPLE ACTUALLY WANT A PAIRING FOR ZORO? I DONT WRITE ROMANCE WELL BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE FUN TBH.**

 **Choppah: I agree, hence why I said I will not make Zoro join any familia but he will most likely be joining a party because, as we all know, he cant depend on his geographical knowledge. Thank you for your time!**

 **Hashirama 1710: Well said, I couldn't have said it better. I completely agree! Thank you for reading and leaving a review!**

 **SuperSaiyanDemon: Thank you for your wait and for your response. I hope this new chapter will be a smooth read for you as well!**

 **TomahawkESP: Tempting, but I cant make him an actual God. Maybe a fake one, sure! Hehe, thank you for reading!**


	8. Chapter 6

**_RISE OF A HERO_**

 ** _CHAPTER 6_**

The way that the elf dodged the Goliath's massive fists thrashing about while still attacking with unrelenting force was nothing short of gale winds in a hurricane. At the same time, the beauty and grace of her lithe form shook the adventurers standing on the ground below the two to their very core.

"What power...!"

"Could she be the one who cut that Goliath in half earlier?"

"I think I saw that attack arrived from Mord's group!"

"Synchronized battle and casting...?"

A girl standing on the sideline noticed what the fighting figure was doing and was just as fascinated as everyone else. She had been tending to her critically injured party members just up until a huge commotion from the opposing force could be heard clearly all the way from the location where her group was restoring their energy. She had ran off to join the fight against the Goliath and assist them. If her own Magic could help others, could buy more time for everyone, then she would gladly jump into any death trap.

Yamato Mikoto. She has the appearance of a semi-typical asian girl with a pair of black eyes and long black hair which she has tied up in a ponytail at the right side of her head. Due to the odd angle her hair was styled into and a difference in length, a large number of strands on the left side of her head escaped the captivity and falls to the front of her face like a smooth black silk. Her bangs are split in the middle of her forehead and are tucked behind both her ears, it would normally gives of a rather messy look but Mikoto managed to make it seem perfect on her. She wears a short purple kimono that reached only until her thighs with a sarashi underneath along with a dark red sash and thigh length black boots. She also wears a red shoulder guard on her non weapon arm, arm guards, and keeps her katana in the sash at her waist.

She left the care of her party members after making sure their lives were not in any danger and returned to the battlefield, only to be baffled by what she saw. Mikoto could see that the elvish warrior was far beyond her own strength. At first it made the girl realize her own weakness, but then showed her a level of power that she could attain. At last, she swore that one day she would reach the same plateau and stand next to the elf as equals. She shook her head and took a look around—the adventurers around her were still engaged in a spirited fight with the remaining monsters. Watching the bravery and courage displayed on everybody's face, she has caught a second wind in herself long before this moment and was about to run off and join the fray when Mikoto spotted a lone figure standing in the middle of it all.

The man seemed to be in a foul mood, judging by the downturn of his lips. His face was set in a hard expression, deliberately ignoring all others around him. What he's doing may be dangerous and foolish considering he's currently amidst a swarm of vicious monsters. By standing there and doing nothing, he has successfully attracted a few of monsters to himself. Of course if it was any other person, they would already meet their end—though this was unknown by Mikoto.

"What is that man—?!" Mikoto was saying before she cut herself off at the sight of three threatening figures stepping towards the man from behind. Before she realised it, she was already running to his aid in order to intercept the threat before something surprising occurs in front of her eyes.

Zoro effortlessly evaded the monsters that have set him as their target with amazing reflexes. To normal eyes it would seem as if he has not taken a single step away from his standing position and yet the beasts that have charged from his back were now directly in front of him and turning back around to face Zoro in a state of confusion. Was it magic or was there some underhanded trick to it? Neither, Zoro's movement was simply too fast for others to keep track on. He uninterestedly stared at the one in the middle, who seems to be the leader of the trio, and it barked to him in response.

"...You've got guts underestimating me like that." The height difference between them made Zoro's well-built body loomed over the three and meanwhile the other two hesitantly started to lower their head in submission, the leader that received the full blow of his tenacious gaze was frozen in its spot. It tried to move away, to jump back from this existence standing right in front it, to widen the gap between them, in order to get away from that eye that seems to suck everything into it and swallow it all up whole and tried all as it may, its legs still wouldn't listen to it.

"What's wrong? Aren't you the predator of this place? Isn't this your hunting ground?" Zoro lightly tapped his sword against his shoulder in an easy going manner. A low growl could still be heard out of them, clearly intimidated by this person for they could sense that behind his smirk lies a demon that is the backing to that aura of confidence and power he radiates off.

All too soon it ended, his blade swiftly cut through the air in one swift motion before three heads fell to the ground one by one in a soundly thud.

"The rules of the world have always been simple. The strong will devour the weak. To survive and overcome depends on the strength of your will. Hmph." Finished Zoro as he finally returns his white meito sword in its rightful scabbard and focus back to the more important battle taking place. Ashes and dust mixed together beautifully swirled into the air around him, like a leaf flowing down a river. Mikoto could only stare in shock as her whole body underwent a frightful shudder at that man's words. Snapping herself out of it a moment later, she turned to look at the direction of what has the man so fascinated.

* * *

"You couldn't stay down for just a little longer?!" Asfi quipped at the beast in frustration because Ryuu's magic was not yet ready. The Goliath managed to get on its knees and started to right itself up. Whether it finally gained control of its anger and remembered its objective or it has only caught the sight of the swordsman again and was swallowed up by an even greater fury, the giant continued its advance across the great plain.

"I didn't want to use this in front of so many people— _Talaria_." With a tone of resignation in her voice, the blue-haired girl with the glasses reluctantly leaned down and stroked the sides of her sandals.

The golden wing decorations that were wrapped around the sides of each sandal flinched before coming to life. Two wings from each sandal, four in all, spread out as Asfi took flight. The Goliath tilted its head in disbelief as the girl flew in front of its face. Even the elven girl and the other adventurers were momentarily stunned by the girl zipping through the air. Long ago, the young queen of an island nation had such a yearning to travel the skies that she used her Enigma to create the item that made her dream come true. Winged sandals, _Talaria_. A high-level magic item reserved for Perseus herself, along with _Hades' Head_. With these two sandals firmly strapped to her feet, Asfi alone was able to take to the air. An item that leveled the playing field against airborne monsters. Her white cloak fluttered behind her as she looped around the Goliath like a bird, faster and faster as she closed in on the giant's face. Holding her dagger upside down in her left hand, she made her move. In a single slash, the Goliath roared in pain as the dagger tore through one of its red eyes. All the while, Zoro was still watching.

"—Come, wind of winds, wandering traveller of the ages. Across the skies, through the fields, faster than any, farther than all. Light of stardust, tear my enemies asunder!" The blonde elf, Ryuu's thin eyebrows curved downward at the motionless beast before she finally unleashed her magic while the Goliath cupped its injured eye with one hand and looked up at Ryuu as the elf finished her spell.

" **Luminous Wind!** "

Hundreds of small orbs surrounded by swirling green wind appeared around her. Thrusting her outstretched arms forward, the stardust slammed into the beast in a torrent of magical energy and piercing wind. Each hit carved away a piece of the Goliath's hide, causing countless bursts of blood every second. It was a powerful type of magic, very fitting for an elf, and it was driving the Goliath backward until the Goliath stopped its retreat and pressed forward into the stardust onslaught. Fresh waves of red specks launched from the monster's body, encasing it in a pulsing spiral of light. Its wounds healed just as fast as the remaining stardust orbs could open new ones while the monster advanced on the both of them, intend to eliminate the enemies right in front of it.

Mikoto had already separated from the green-haired man when she saw the struggle the two had put up against the giant. Realising the dire of the situation, she left the melee ground so she can provide an assistance to the both of them. Mikoto found a low spot in the plains and began to cast a spell in order to help fight against the giant.

"Fear, strong and winding—" She focused all of her mental energy into this one attack. There was no point saving any to continue the fight. She poured everything she had into her spell, enunciation strong and steady.

"I call upon the god, the destroyer of any and all, for guidance from the heavens. Grant this trivial body divine power beyond power." Mikoto's incantations reverberated through the air.

"Descend from the heavens, seize the earth shinbu tousei!" The Goliath's arms was extended, on a direct course for Asfi while the other was coming down on Ryuu. That was the instant that Mikoto's magic was complete.

" **Futsu no Mitama!** "

A sword composed of violet light appeared directly over the Goliath's head and descended. At the same time, several lights similar to magic circles appeared on the ground, surrounding the giant. The sword of light skewered the giant's body, triggering a cage of gravity around the beast. A force field descended from the hilt of the sword ten meters in the air to create a dome. The leading edge of the field put a barrier between the two women and the Goliath just before the monster's attacks could connect. Trapped inside the dome, the floor boss's outstretched right hand fell to the ground in a smack, followed closely by its knees. The Goliath groaned in pain as the ground beneath it collapsed under the pressure of Mikoto's magic.

This was her trump card. Her god, Takemikazuchi, had all but forbidden her to use this magic inside the closed spaces of the Dungeon. Her magic had the power to crush things in a certain area by dramatically increasing the effect of gravity. The Goliath was being pushed lower and lower by the violet dome that was holding it prisoner. She had been reluctant to use it until now because she might have caught the attackers and magic users under the dome by accident. Even the two main fighters were clearly impressed as they watched the giant squirm under its cage. Mikoto's face distorted in pain, grabbing her outstretched right arm with her left hand.

 _Crick. Crick. Crick._

The dome started to give way as the giant that had been literally brought to its knees was slowly climbing back to its feet. The Goliath's body rose higher and higher, fighting against the gravity with all of its might. Mikoto focused all of her mental energy in a futile attempt to push the monster back down. She wasn't strong enough. The Goliath's status was far beyond hers. She didn't stand a chance. The Goliath rose higher and higher, the force field warping to the giant's will.

"It's breaking—!" Mikoto yelled out a warning to the others as the giant slammed both of its fists through the barrier created by her gravity magic. It roared as the field shattered around it, releasing the Goliath from its cage. Ryuu and Asfi once again prepared themselves for battle—when a figure managed to materialised himself out of thin air in front of them. Zoro had just sprang forward from his position. He then appeared at the side of Ryuu and Asfi just as a huge bellow of flame burst out in front of them.

* * *

"All of you! If you don't have a death wish, get out of the way!" Welf immediately understood what was going on.

They are losing this fight. All they can hope to do is to buy time for help to arrive. He held on to hope that there will be someone powerful enough to stop the rampaging Goliath. A useless notion, this should be the end of the road for them. He unwillingly let out a disgruntled sound underneath his breath. Swearing to himself that he won't let any of his friends undergo another suffering hit while he watched on helplessly again, he charged away from the forest and toward the chaos in front of him. A swarm of monsters cut him off in no time. The red-haired man moved the cloth-covered weapon into position. Welf swung the blade sideways in front of his chest—a wildfire stampeded forward.

The wide-eyed adventurers managed to get out of its path at the last moment, armor singed as every single monster was reduced to ash on contact. The great plain turned into a smoldering mess in its wake. The adventurers stared in disbelief as the last bit of white cloth burned away, revealing the rest of the blade. There were no decorations to be seen, just a long crimson blade and a handle. The absolutely stunning weapon looked as though it were carved directly out of solid rock, simple and beautiful.

 _Crack._

A small line grew down the middle of the blade just below Welf's hand. Welf glared down at the magic sword that started to fall apart after just one use before he took off yet again. And just for this one attack, Welf yelled the name of his magic sword at the top of his lungs.

" _Burning Moon_ , **Kaduki!** "

The blaze instantly cast bright shadows over everything and everyone. A crimson pyre sprang to life. Flames erupted from the blade of the magic sword; the Goliath was engulfed in a scorching inferno. The Goliath's howls of pain were drowned out by the roaring fire as its body was overrun by the flames. The giant's body burned as if trapped in the fires of hell. Its self-regeneration couldn't keep up. The fire burned away any progress it made. The moment one of the red specks healed a piece of its hide, the flames burned it away. The Goliath only had enough magic energy to maintain a physical form, and it was running out of energy fast. For the first time during this long fight, permanent damage had been seared into the floor boss's skin.

"My word, a Crozzo Magic Sword...!"

"It's stronger—stronger than the original magic?!"

Asfi and Ryuu watched the firestorm intensify right in front of their eyes. This was not the power of some conjured magic. They were witnessing a power strong enough to incinerate an elves' forest in the blink of an eye. As the legend said, Crozzo's Magic Swords were said to be strong enough to set fire to the ocean. Every ounce of that strength had just been unleashed. The sword released one final torrent of flames before a small network of cracks appeared on the blade. The cracks started to multiply, cutting deeper and deeper until finally the blade shattered right in front of Welf.

"—Sorry." His shoulders drooped as he whispered under his breath while he watched the thousands of shards fall to the ground, clinking as they hit.

Zoro stood silently when he realized how much time had passed. He had been patiently waiting, his black pupil trained straight forward and right in the middle of his field of vision stood the black giant, Goliath. The beast that had repelled so many other adventurers' attacks with ease. At this moment, most of its body was hidden by massive flames and billowing smoke. However, its red glow was by far the brightest source of light in the darkness that covered the eighteenth floor.

"Haaah. None of you was able to hold a candle to this guy. You babble on for too long but that was gutsy of you, girl. That was very flashy of Red too. Alright, time's up. Stay behind me, this time nobody better step in." Zoro cut in, surprising the two female adventurers at his side.

The young man stood in front of the Goliath, both his hands gripping onto the hilt of his swords that was sheathed at his side. The sight of this back was like a powerful light driving away the tide of despair. For a second, a strange calm filled the air, the wind tamed as a man and beast locked eyes. The red eyes of the burning Goliath caught a glimpse of the swordsman that severely cut him. It bellowed with a mixture of anger and fear as it pulled one of its massive, burning arms behind its back. The giant was ready to punch, the attack that had already destroyed so much and injured so many is steadily approaching Zoro. The Goliath's body towered over him, a presence that should be able to crush anyone standing in its path. Taking a deep breath, focusing every ounce of his being into the blade of his swords, Zoro could feel power flowing through his grip and the adrenaline coursing through his veins. Then suddenly, he jumped into the air and heroically—One swing.

* * *

"Bell-kun..."

Hestia could barely speak as she watch the boy sat up on his own. The god standing over the boy's injured body, watching over him, was Hermes. The image of Bell's trembling body was reflected in the deity's dancing flames encased inside the deity's glassy eyes as the boy slowly climbed to his feet. He rose to fight, to go to a sword so as not to disgrace the memory of his grandfather. But most of all, to save the people who meant the most to him. To go to the limits—beyond the limits, to put everything on the line.

"Bell-sama!" Lilly's small figure appeared behind them.

She used every muscle in her tiny frame to take a large weapon out of her backpack and throw it in his direction. The large black sword carved arcs through the air as it whisked toward them. Bell's arm sprang to life as he snatched the weapon out of the air with one hand. Gripping the blade's thick hilt with both hands, he swung the blade forward as he set his feet into a powerful stance. His ruby-red eyes flicked forward and focused on the form of his small goddess.

Let the aspirations burn.

Let the dreams roar.

If there was one advantage that Bell Cranell had over anyone else, it would be this one irreplaceable memory from his youth—that's because it was all he had.

He was about to charge **Argonaut** when a flash of light appeared in the night sky. Gone was the darkness surrounding them and what enveloped them was a warm light.

* * *

" **Nitoryu Iai: Rashomon.** " A blinding light flashed the moment he drew his swords and just as quickly he re-sheathed them.

Everyone else was forced to shield their eyes from the intense white light. A dual sword drawing technique so powerful that it split the large obstacle in half from its head to toe. It all happened too fast, even the Goliath had no time to respond to its death. It only managed to croak out a strangling cry of pain. No one could hear any other sound for several seconds. It was utter silence. However, once their mind did process what just went down, they began to realised that the battle had been decided. A few adventurers worked up the courage to lower their hands and arms for a better look. They saw the giant's torso standing still on the ground. It made no sound, a bizarre statue in the aftermath. Its bloodshot eyes rolled into the back of its eyes, its maw wide open with its tongue dangling past its jaw insightfully. Light echoing of footsteps resounded before they sighted the figure of a man standing 10 feet away from it. Just in front of it, standing how he landed after the follow-through of his attack, was Zoro.

"Did you think such a weak body can hope to stand up to my blade?" Each side of its body start to fall apart from being cut down in the middle, an ugly squelching sound could be heard from its flesh slowly sliding off the other.

However that was not the end of it, right after delivering his powerful splitting technique, Zoro had silently sent out multiple slashes in all direction across its imposing figure as a countermeasure against its monstrous regenerative ability. Even he wasn't sure his attack would've affected the Goliath, but alas it seems Zoro managed to defeat it. What was originally just a straight cut through its body suddenly spread out into smaller cracks. And in a sudden explosion, tiny pieces flesh and blood rains all over the great plains. No one said a word, only tried to remember every single detail of this spectacle, the dreadful figure of Zoro simply standing in the middle of the red drizzle of rain. They say it never rain in the dungeon, it is unheard of, but they never run into an enigma of a man known as Roronoa Zoro. Time flowed once again as the splatter of blood hit their face, clothes, hair, and weapon in a horrific manner.

The monster's magic stone had been destroyed along with its physique and as a result the tiny pieces its body began to disintegrate into ash in front of Zoro. It was as if the magic stone itself had been ground into dust, its remain slowly started to fall apart and disappear along with its body into the air. A light breeze started carrying a portion of the large amount of ash into the air, revealing a drop item—Goliath's Hide.

"Who...no..what are you Roronoa-san?" Those words that was without a doubt dancing at the tip of everyone else's tongue before they fell silent at the gaze Zoro directed towards them. Welf stood still, simply awestruck by what he witnessed.

"Ahh I got everyone dirty," Zoro rubbed the back of his head in a sympathic gesture. What remained of the large garden of crystals in the middle of the ceiling shined a blue spotlight down upon him.

Cheers rang out suddenly. The adventurers surrounding the battlefield raised their fists triumphantly, embraced their allies, and shed tears of happiness as they yelled as loud as they could. Flashes of silver light filled the area. They were waving their broken swords, spears, axes, and shields as their song of victory echoed throughout the eighteenth floor. The great plain shook with their waves of sound that were too distorted to form words. Everything that had just transpired in the Dungeon felt like a lie in this moment of jubilation. The walls and ceiling were silent; there was no threat of any new monsters appearing. The residents of Livira celebrated alongside Mord's adventurers, their faces red with excitement and joy.

* * *

The group looked to the south only to see a single adventurer, what emerged from the trees behind Mord's group was a boy holding an absolutely massive black sword. The boy's white hair reflected in their eyes. No words were necessary. The light in his eyes cut through the darkness, naturally lifting up other people's spirits. Bell stood not too far behind the remains of battle, a large black sword in his hands. He had rushed over ahead of his group to see the result of the fight. He used the sword as a cane to keep himself upright, and Welf was seen almost immediately running to his side.

"Bell-kun!" He offered to carry Bell on his shoulder and the boy was grateful for the help.

As they walked deeper into the clearing and away from the forest, he could see various reactions from the people around him. Some cried, some jumping in joy, some was too taken aback by the turn of events that they simply fell flat on their asses, and some was just content to watch others. Even Bell and Welf themselves were undergoing mixed feelings of the sort. Most of it was due to the sight of blood drenched ground of the plains.

"What happened Welf-san, I heard a great cheer. Did all of you managed to take it down?" Welf turned his gaze aside, his eyes locked onto a figure in a distant. He was surrounded on each corner by adventurers offering continuous congratulatory cheers as the entire eighteenth floor seemed to embrace him, much to Zoro's annoyance. Welf could just barely heard the harmless warnings the swordsman gave to the adventurers surrounding him, to back off or else they'll get cut up. Of course nobody minded his words though and continued cheering for him.

"Yeah, or more like he did." Mord's group chirped in before Welf could answer by himself before they continued their cheering alongside the Livira residents.

"Is that so? I'm just glad everyone is oka—" The boy's body went limp in his arms before he could even finish his words. Welf cried out his name in a worried tone at the realisation the boy had lost consciousness at his side and from the burden of extra weight.

Another two figures appeared just as he collapsed against Welf. The two tiny girls simultaneously called out his name and ran to his side. Hestia was the first to arrive, wiping away tears as she went. It didn't take long for Lily to take her place at the other side of him. The red-haired man carefully laid his body on the ground before the two could make a fuss over his body. Eventually Mikoto reached their group as well, as well as some of the other adventurers gathered around in curiosity.

* * *

Hermes stood a great distance away, his body trembled in a mix of excitement and fear at the news his child delivered to him. Meanwhile, Asfi silently studied Zoro from her godfather's side. His amber eyes sparkled as he watched the figure of Zoro at the center of the children's celebration. The deity laughed as if he had been intoxicated by the thrill that was swirling inside him.

"I can't possibly keep this marvellous discovery to myself!" Hermes' enthusiasms had yet to subside as he continued looking out over the great plain filled with adventurers, as if he were watching a play, and he yelled out.

"A new era is coming!"

The sudden appearance of this exceptionally skilled swordsman will definitely change the course of lives of everyone around him. This was Hermes' divine intuition, it had been a thorn in his side for quite some time. Their humanity, their praise, their joy. Hermes's vision of the future came together in his head as he watched the gathering around the green-haired man.

"There have never been a greater group of heroes alive at the same time since the prehistoric age!" He continued to list off a few collection of names of valiant individuals throughout all history. Each of them had a level of character and strength that would measure up well with the greatest hero of all the time, and they were all here at once.

"The Braver" Finn Deimne.

"Nine Hell" Riveria Ljos Alf.

"Warlord" Ottar.

"Sword Princess" Aiz Wallenstein.

Add the "Little Rookie" Bell Cranel into the equation and his untapped potential as well as the mysterious swordsman with his proven strength and power, Hermes' intuition became a firm convinction. The deity's eyes opened even wider.

 _'It would become the ultimate show. The most charming of charm. The pastime to end all pastimes. Ahh this is so exciting!'_

The children were still in the middle of their celebration. Dancing. Fist-pumping. Yelling with glee. He opened both his arms outwards towards them and sang a song to praise the heroes.

"Coming down to this world was the best decision I've ever made!"

* * *

 **A/N: I ACTUALLY WROTE THIS IN JUST ONE DAY AND IMMEDIATELY UPLOADED IT. THERE MIGHT HAVE BEEN A LOT OF MISTAKES OR HOLES IN THE CHAPTER. I COULDNT FIND THE TIME TO WRITE MORE AND THE READERS WANT THE STORY TO PROGRESS FAST. ALSO SORRY BELL, I GUESS YOU JUST GOTTA WAIT FOR A DIFFERENT DAY. BTW I MADE A MISTAKE THAT ZORO IS IN HIS USUAL ATTIRE BUT A FEW CHAPTERS BACK HE WAS IN DIFFERENT CLOTHES LMAO LETS JUST SAY HE MATERIALISED IT OUT OF THIN HAIR FROM HIS PURE WILL, YES THATS RIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING AND FOLLOWING THIS STORY. LEAVE ME WITH YOUR THOUGHTS ON WHAT YOU THINK I SHOULD IMPROVE IN ORDER TO MAKE THE STORY MORE ENJOYABLE TO READ!**

 **Wildman9002: Thank you for your time and response! Same could be said for me, I can't see Zoro ever ending up with anyone other than his swords.**

 **DejDem: Thank you for stopping by to read and review nonetheless! Yes, I am aware of that but I'm such a sucker for details. I want to write down every little things that were going on before the real showdown went down. Sorry for the delay, hope this chapter is to your satisfaction!**

 **Minouuu974: Hello to you too! Thank you for your kind words, I am really happy to hear that. I agree, I agree. I don't think Zoro would want to work under anyone other than Luffy himself. And yes, true he also lacks faith, he would rather depend on his own power than believing in invincible power of the Gods. But he's a firm believer of fate and destiny. That's exactly what I thought lmao, Zoro is already way too in love with his swordsmanship! I'll give it more thoughts about who should be his love interest/s in the story. Dont worry about it, I hope to hear more from you! Hope you will like this chapter heheh. Toodle~**

 **Guest: Oh that's a lengthy review, I wish you hadn't left it as a guest. I'd love to discuss more about this through pm! I took your words into account and it wasn't too late for me to make some changes. I need more opinions from people so I encourage this behaviour, but you greatly misunderstood me, I was going to make Zoro play around with it. And by the drama, how are people supposed to gauge Zoro's power level if they don't first witness the struggles other people put up against it? I used Zoro as a last resort so people can see the huge gap of power between the two and planned to have Bell swoop in to stab its heart stone maybe lmao. I like the story where the mc is underestimated or mysterious and low-key, even if Bell had taken the credits for Zoro of course there should still be rumours that the one who actually took down the Goliath was some unnamed swordman but a lot of people requested for Zoro to take down the Goliath so I went with it. Thank you so much for your feedback, this really helped me figure out where should I take the next step for this story! I will consider your words, do tell me your opinion on this chapter!**

 **Star: Thank you for your time and support. I am really happy you liked it and to know that my Zoro is not OOC hehe. Hope you will continue reading!**

 **Tsun: That was just me testing the waters and waiting for people to tell me what they hoped to see but at the start, nobody responded enough so I decided to just follow the canon plot huhu. I'm purposefully making the storyline stretch way longer than necessary and undermining Zoro in hope someone will just tell me how they wish the next chapter would go, and I will write it. Hopefully after this, people will leave more blunt comments. Thank you so much for your time and review! Hope this chapter is to your liking!**

 **Guest: Hey hey, I heard you there! Ding, ding, ding. Request granted!**


	9. Chapter 7

**_A NEW WORLD_**

 ** _Chapter 7_**

After the incident where Zoro stole the limelight and took down the formidable floor boss, things were pretty lively on the 18th floor following that. Most of the half-dead looking warriors seem to have regained their spirits that have been extinguished by the black hulk. Which is a good thing, Zoro supposed, but he would rather if they didn't swarm him and fired too many questions all at once for him to even understand them.

"Amazing..truly...THAT WAS AMAZING!"

"Which hellhole did this man crawl out from, ya bastards?! Kah kah kah! That crazy strength, which familia do ya belong to?"

"I owe my life to you, I'll make sure to repay my debt someday! Could you please tell us your name?"

"How are you so strong?!"

"Ahh ya hair...no—that ain't matter! Where'd cha come from?!"

"Young lad, spit out your name so this old man can spread the tale of an incredible hero that saved us. Wahahah!"

"That was my first time seeing a first class in action, nyan!"

"Three swords? Never heard of anyone like that before,"

"Oi! The town of Livira and its people are grateful to ya, we'll treat ya big the next time you visit us. My name is—"

It endlessly went on, Zoro have had second thoughts whether he should actually act on his warnings and cut these people up. Of course, the swordsman wouldn't truly follow through his actions with that line of thought, but empty threats won't really work on this group of brash individuals. When you have been living your life staying on the edge every day, actively placing yourself in risky situations by fighting against strong monsters, it left that effect on you—and Zoro could understand that. After all, he was one of those people. But it doesn't make him immune to headaches, though. They are acting like flies, flying all over him, just plain irritating and noisy. Zoro was standing in the middle of the crowd with his arms crossed over his toned chest and his gaze cast downwards in frustration—causing the upper half of his face to be overshadowed, and in turn it attracted more attention to the patch of green on his head. His patience was gradually wearing thin again and a tick mark inevitably appeared on Zoro's left temple. Just as the adventurers braced themselves for they believed they were on the receiving end of another verbal abuse, an unwanted character surfaced from Zoro.

"All of you are noisy as hell!" He retorted, with his usual gruff voice but it subtly display how pleased he was at the reaction people are showing to his—frequently remarked as monstrous by the weaker members in his crew—strength before he deliberately continued in a rather grouchy attitude. "Hero? Who the hell wanna be a hero?" Applying a bit of force and unnecessarily drawing out his words while giving off the most annoyed facial expression he could muster. He looked like a petulant child as he always did whenever he was having an argument with a particular blonde chef.

A sweat drop manifested on the back of everyone's head as they pulled a couple steps away from Zoro.

 _'A tsundere, eh?'_ That thought reflected on everyone's face as they contemplated on Zoro's strong personality and just as they were about to resume the one-sided interactions between them and the swordsman, a voice interrupted their progress.

"I think it's only fair to give him some space. Even for him, it must have taken a huge toll on his body. The cost of defeating the Goliath. Everyone, please go help the others tend to the wounded." A feminine voice could be heard coming from outside the horde of people and that prompted everyone to swivel around to look at the owner of the said voice.

"Elf girl.." Muttered one of the people from the group, a demi-human and younger looking adventurer compared to the rest of them. Recalling back the situation, almost immediately he had a guilty expression on his face. As if it was a transmittable disease, a gloomy aura enveloped the whole group and it had put a damper on everyone's mood, the only one left unaffected was Zoro. After most of them finally recollected their cool head, seemingly in an affirmation to themselves, they gave a curt nod to one another before walking off and breaking the small circle formation surrounding the green-haired man.

Now left alone with the stranger, Zoro slightly relaxed his tense muscles from the newly acquired peace but just enough to show that he was still on his guard if she decided to pull anything weird. He dropped his arms to his side and let out a quiet sigh before turning his head to his left side facing her direction in order to return her stare. Standing a few feet away from him, was the elven lady that kept interrupting him with the monster. Ryuu Lion. Truthfully, the girl had so many questions to ask the mysterious man who saved them but at the same time she understood it was none of her business and that everyone has their own story to keep.

Ryuu is an elf with exceptional power and beauty. Her bright blonde hair falls short underneath her hidden pointy ears, barely reaching her shoulders with layered bangs covering her forehead. Her skin is as white as snow which caused her to be referred to as a fairy on several occasions by others. Her current attire is a mid-length green cloak with a hood in the shape of a flower and a white sleeveless top under it. She also comes with a pair of long brown gloves that cover almost the entirety of her arms and boots that reached her upper thighs with a white sash over a green undergarment, where she keep her wooden sword and a pair of short swords tucked in. Ryuu's sky blue orbs maintained the eye contact with Zoro's dark eye and as if given an approval, that jet black eye stirred a movement out of her and she began to approach him.

"Can you walk?" She spoke in her natural calm and cool mannerism. A snort coming from Zoro was an answer enough to her question.

"Don't underestimate me, woman. That thing couldn't even kill my boredom. I could ask you the same thing." Zoro broke the eye contact eventually and averted his gaze elsewhere. Ryuu's next response was very much unnecessary as Zoro had already figured out the answer to his question with brief inspection from his part.

"In all honesty, my whole body is hurting at the moment.." And they continued in their idle talk while the scenery zoomed out and the noises around slowly but surely started to sound muddled as if they were underwater. Even the picture of them started to waver like a reflection on the surface of water, it ripples with every slight movement in the room. Unbeknownst to everyone else, a presence has been watching them through a crystal ball with magical properties from the start until the downfall of the Goliath—or not exactly.

 _'Did I imagine it?'_

Zoro has been glaring at an empty air the whole time, his eye now was a bottomless pool of darkness and void of any human feelings. The hint of a smile that graced his face just a moment ago was instead replaced by a sneer. A shudder run throughout her body, it was as if his gaze penetrated through both space and deep inside her flesh. As if a hunter watching his prey as intensely a hawk watching a mouse.

"Fuhuhuhu.. What is he, a wild animal? Oh no~ I'm getting too excited!"

* * *

Bell woke up to an immediate shot of pain coursing throughout his whole body starting from his left ribcage. Even though it wasn't entirely as bad as it was a few hours ago, thanks to all the low tier potions he received from others, the direct hit from the Goliath that his lanky body had tanked was simply reduced to a disturbing coloured bruise mark on his left torso.

Bell slowly climbed up to his feet while trying to avoid making any immediate movement. Suddenly, a hand entered his line of sight, a silent offering to help him up. He tilted his head upwards to see if he can recognise the owner, expecting it was just Goddess-sama but to his surprise, a forest fairy appeared in his field of vision. Bell immediately turned bright red, both his hands fumbling in front of him in a sad attempt to cover his heated face, his previous thought about not moving so recklessly was already forgotten. A jolt of pain spread all over his body once again, resulting in Bell letting out the most unmanly scream in front of Ryuu Lion.

After much ruckus—coming from his part meanwhile just a quiet chuckle escaped from her—they finally fell into a comfortable silence once again inside the tent. Bell couldn't afford to embarrass himself anymore. Trying to display some amount of manliness, Bell sat himself up after he respectfully declined her questioning gaze. There's a new wave of pain that hit him but he withstood it like a true man. Next as he tried to stand up, focusing completely on his teetering legs, he finally managed to stand straight. Every muscle in his body was complaining as a result, but he could still handle it.

"How long did I sleep—" Bell started before he was interrupted by the appearance of two little girls rushing inside the tent.

"BELL-KUN! YOU'RE AWAKE!"

"Bell-sama! We heard a scream?"

* * *

Even though the floor has been shrouded in darkness for hours, the night has only just officially begun. A gathering of people huddled by the campfire, someone is stirring a stew in a huge pot, the adventurers of town Livira were kind enough to provide them with the ingredients as a token of appreciation for what happened today. They sat in a circle around the fire waiting for their dinner, watching the fire as if hypnotized by it, holding their hands out to get just a little more of the gentle heat. With the fire as their tiny sun for the evening, casting long shadows over the stool and log they sat upon. The warm flames curled, swayed, flicking, and crackling as they lick at the dry wood and sent feeble sparks to die in the air.

"I see, so you woke up having no idea where you are and what was going on?" The glow from the fire sent its warmth and light far out, flashing red reflections in the curiously twisted eyes. Hermes sat with his legs crossed at the knee with his left elbow resting on top of it. His chin cupped in his hand, and a thoughtful look marking his young and handsomely face. He's still wearing the same clothes from before with the exception of his hat. He had taken it off much earlier, leaving his golden hair to fall prettily around his face.

"Yeah." Zoro gave a bored reply while poking the fire with a stick, to move the log and coal so it could burn better. "Hey, when will dinner be done?" He asked the girl currently in charge for their dinner, who he has had the pleasure to be acquainted with this evening, along with everyone else. Chigusa, the timid looking girl panicked at being address by Zoro couldn't form a proper response and was left with her mouth agape when Hermes decided to speak again.

"And, you have not the slightest clue what a familia is? Or anything about the dungeon?" A strange glint of mischief reflected in his eyes. His bright coloured eyes smiled constantly, and Zoro wondered to himself that perhaps the glow of the light might be the reason why they looked so alive.

"You going to keep making me repeat myself?" Zoro distrust the man sitting on the opposite direction of him, the fairly young looking man kept watching him like he's about to eat Zoro as a whole. He has a feeling that this man called Hermes is not what he actually portrayed himself to be, that this man have yet to show his true nature.

"Kukuku..you have no idea who you're talking to Zo-ro-kun." Hermes stood up as if issuing a challenge to Zoro, his upwardly slanted eyes still in a silent laugh.

"Her-mes-sa-ma!" With a swift kick to the shin, Hermes fell to the ground cradling his leg that was the victim of the abuse. "Enough with this game of yours. Roronoa, do you believe in a god?" Asfi scolded the blonde god before she decided to cut the chase and address the swordman directly.

"Hai, hai~ Of course I was joking, Asfi-neesan is so uptight!" All the while, Hermes continued on in the background.

* * *

Bell and the rest of the group went back to the surface after defeating the Goliath, which was the morning after that disastrous event. By some miracle, every member of their group survived the ordeal. Each of them went their separate ways, to inform those closest to them of their safe return. One went up to his goddess, Hestia, to express his gratitude and buried the remains of a weapon, one went to bring their group members up to speed, and still another removed the hood and went back to working at a bar without anyone noticing. At the same time, a gag order was issued to all of the adventurers who had witnessed the events on the eighteenth floor.

The appearance of the floor boss at a safe point was an Irregular beyond comprehension. The Guild declared it to be an "act of the gods"—henceforth classified as a "Calamity". To avoid excessive confusion, Hestia and Hermes both received a strict warning, as well as a penalty—their explanation of the circumstances was ignored and forbidden to speak of it ever again. However. It was impossible to keep the voices silent forever. That's the way of the world. Especially with the appearance of a new player in the game of the Gods. The rumours of an unknown swordsman single-handedly slaying a monster class rex would soon spread out to the whole labyrinth city of Orario. In fact, it wasn't even long enough before the gossip reached every adventurer's ears.

"Green-haired swordsman who uses three swords? A character like that doesn't exists.."

"Ehh? Who the heck? All of them must've worked together to defeat it."

"You dumbass! Did you forget that Loki Familia just returned from their dungeon expedition, they already saved Livira once before. Those shameless bastards probably took their credit!"

"The hair is green, right? Ahh there is that elf queen, Reveria Riyos Alf. A misinformation then, swordsman my ass!"

* * *

Zoro entered the exit as he lifts the fabric door out of the way before the scenery outside came into his view. Surrounded by trees on all corners, and a few more tents have been pitched around the yurt he's currently occupying. He wondered why there are random groups of survivors from the day before camped around him, not that Zoro cared, it was a simple inquiry. They were kind enough to provide him with food and informations, those two reasons were enough to make Zoro accept their company and indulge in their curiosity. It was a strange sensation, waking up in this world again, especially after absorbing all the information from the blue-haired girl last night. He had thought that this was all a dream and soon enough he would find himself awake on a ship again. It was a wishful thinking, it would not be an understatement to say that he had been too hopeful.

Zoro started walking forward, heading towards no tree in particular. The leaves and branches created a kind of dome canopy over his head. However, sometimes small rays of light managed to slip through the small openings in between the leaves and shone down to the ground. Zoro could feel a warm sensation on his face. To top it all off, he can clearly see blue through the leaves. He ran his hand through his crop of green hair and decided to just give up trying to understand the place. He was told they're inside a labyrinth of monsters called the Dungeon. Hence, no sunlight should be able to make it down here—so how come there is still a shade and a blue sky? Zoro thought he had already found the answer to that yesterday, but to his knowledge the Goliath had also left a giant hole in the ceiling of this place. And yet there is still a 'blue sky' and a warm 'sun' on the other side of those leaves. Zoro continued his path into the woods, completely ignoring all the admired looks he received from the people around him. He left the camp area and continued his walk until he arrived in part of the forest completely untouched by humans, it spread out even wider as the canopy towers above him.

It's a rare case where Zoro didn't get lost in the middle of his route to somewhere, and it was all thanks to his sense of hearing, he only needed to follow the sound and it would without fail lead him to the place of his destination. The sound of flowing water is getting closer and could be heard more clearly before the sight of a small river running through this forest is seen. Clear and sparkling crystals of all sizes and shapes came into his view as well, looking absolutely gorgeous and pleasing to the eyes. The entire forest is illuminated by the soft glow of azure light these crystals emitted. Even the forest floor is covered in little blue fragments, along with a good amount of green moss and tree roots. It's a mystifying, wondrous sight. It's impossible not to stand and stare. But Zoro didn't pause in his steps at all, he kept walking towards what seemed like a semicircular arch-like entrance to a secret open area bathed in white light.

The pirate had to cover up his eye the first time he stumbled upon this space earlier this morning. The forest opened up to a new and brighter path as Zoro's eye adjusted to the light. His existence now only a tiny dot of life in this new landscape. The first view he took in was the great plain that spread throughout his entire vision, so rich with green but it couldn't beat the tropical rainforests his crew has been to in one of their many adventures in the Grandline. Crystals are scattered on each corner of the landscape. A most perfectly smooth surface of an amazingly pure blue on his left, it was a giant lake with a gigantic rocky island sticking out in the middle of it, and the forest's green spreads out to Zoro's right.

Slightly inclining his head backwards, from this place his eye can catch a glimpse of the ceiling without having to climb up a tree. As he had observed this morning, the entire ceiling of this level is covered in a sheet of crystals, as they were yesterday. They go from corner to corner and all the way around, like a field of blooming flowers looking down from above. Gone was the sight of a giant hole in the 'sky'. And the light from the crystal shines bright, thus creating the afternoon atmosphere on the 18th floor. The living dungeon had repaired itself to how it was before in just one night. This is the place known as the safe point, level eighteen, where monsters doesn't spawn off of the wall. A world full of nature and crystals far below the surface. The Under Resort.

 _'Hmm, giants could swing one of those crystals around like a dagger. Ehh how lucky,'_

Zoro lowered himself to the ground beside a huge trunk of tree, while at the same time removing all three wooden scabbards by his side. He leaned his back against the rough exterior of the wood, with one leg propped up and the other folded under the former. His arms resting on his haramaki, not crossed but just casually draped on top of one another. The swords, while still in their respectful sheath, were supported up by the tree and leaning at an angle on his shoulder. Zoro's arms loosely looped around them. He came to this area in hope to catch an afternoon nap and clear his head from his dishevelled state of mind.

"Gods and Goddesses huh?" Zoro spoke outloud to himself. As he did so, he summoned the memory from yesterday's conversation.

"Are all the monsters in the dungeon this fairly weak?" He had asked Asfi at some point, after listening to the explanation from her.

 _'Weak…_ '

Three figures simultaneously dropped to the ground on all fours like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Takemikazuchi's children took it especially hard because they weren't much help in the fight during the day. Those words instantly sent them spiraling into a short period of depression. Their skin rapidly losing colour and turning pale, pupils seemed to have shrunk in size, and a dark aura hovered above them. The trio repeatedly mumbling the words "hopeless" and "useless" to themselves as they sat together—forming their own little triangle—whilst rocking their body back and forth. The sight reminded Zoro of the cook's reaction to his hand drawn bounty.

 _'_ _Oi, are you guys okay?'_

"The deeper in the dungeon you go, the harder the difficulty level of the monsters you get. But it's dangerous to venture deep alone, even if it's you." A different voice cut in, before the lithe frame of a woman show up. The brilliance glare of the flames engulfed her petite body that was exposed to night air. She just left the tent where the boy with snow white hair was resting in. Zoro who was sitting close to fire, and has been relentlessly poking at it with the stick in his hand, lifted his chin a little to see her better. That insignificant action in result casted a shadow over his left side of face. He also raised a questioning eyebrow at the end of her sentence before Ryuu can completely finish herself.

"Since you are unfamiliar with the area, it's a high probability you will get lost."

"That's not the problem, this man can't even follow a straight path!" The short memory slowly dispersed itself and Zoro was seen alone again, leaning all his weight against a tree.

"Shut up, that Red..just suck at giving directions." That accusation automatically escaped his mouth as though to justify himself when there was nobody around to even hear his explanation. Eventually, Zoro managed to rest his eyes and doze off, a bubble of snot even coming out of his nostril—it inflates and deflates in sync with his breathing and loud snoring.

* * *

 _Arise._

 _Heed me._

 _Roronoa Zoro._

 _I hold all the answers you seek._

* * *

 **A/N: HELLO, FIRST OF ALL I WOULD LIKE TO THANK EACH AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU FOR READING, FOLLOWING, FAVOURITING, AND REVIEWING THE STORY! I DEEPLY APPRECIATE YOUR TIME AND FEEDBACKS. ALSO SORRY FOR ANY MISTAKES, I HAVE A WEAK GRAMMAR BUT I HOPE THIS CHAPTER IS TO YOUR LIKING. I WANTED TO WRITE A LONGER CHAPTER BUT I CAN'T DECIDE WHICH STORY I SHOULD GO WITH. I RECENTLY STARTED READING THE SPINOFF AS WELL, AND I COMPLETELY FELL IN LOVE WITH LOKI FAMILIA. SO I NEED TIME TO DECIDE WHETHER I SHOULD MAKE ZORO JOIN THE WAR GAME OR MAKE HIM VENTURE DEEP IN THE DUNGEON AND RUNNING INTO MEMBERS FROM LOKI FAMILIA. OFC IM GOING TO MAKE HIM GO BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN THE TWO STORIES IN THE FUTURE BUT I CANT DECIDE WHICH ONE I SHOULD GO WITH SPECIFICALLY FOR NEXT CHAPTER. THAT'S ALL FOR NOW, SEE YOU NEXT TIME!**

 **Boyzpwn: That's the nicest thing you could say to me because I read pretty much all crossovers involving Zoro as well! Thank you so much for your time, I hope you will continue reading this.**

 **Choppah: I don't write comedy well *cries* but I gave it a shot in this chapter. Tell me what do you think about it, I hope it wasn't too cringy for everyone? I think I'm only good at writing descriptions... I find the dialogue between the characters to be very boring and plain. Also, thank you for your feedback, I appreciate it! I will try to make the story more enjoyable for everyone.**

 **Star: I hope that short fight was to your satisfaction, I really need to improve my skills on how to write fighting scenes. I just glossed over the whole thing and try to end it asap because I suck at writing it. I will do more research so I can include more badass Zoro moments! Thank you for your time and I hope you will continue telling me which part in the story captivated you the most much later in the future!**

 **TomahawkESP: I sure hope so! Thank you and I hope you will enjoy this chapter as well *punches the air***

 **Guest: I'm really glad it was to your liking, no biggies! Do leave me more with your thoughts and I shall consider writing it!**

 **Jjcoop95: I'm happy to know you liked it, I've always thought to myself "omg how cool do you think it would be if Zoro's earrings could make chiming sounds?!" And then, I decided to write it myself lmao and yes he will be joining different parties throughout the story. That's a sweet idea, I should totally write a hot spring or bathing scene in the future!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING IN THIS STORY, ALL THE CHARACTERS BELONG RIGHTFULLY TO THEIR RESPECTFUL AUTHORS.**


	10. Chapter 8

_**ENTER "PIRATE HUNTER" ZORO**_

 _ **CHAPTER 8**_

' _Which floor is this one, again? 22nd? How bothersome, I lost count. Ahh here we go again,'_

Zoro's guess couldn't possibly get anymore off-mark. As a matter of fact, he is actually on the 15th floor. Let's put the story on hold in order to understand the situation at hand a bit better. Try to picture a railway track, a set of two parallel rows of long pieces of almost run down steel, completely coated with corroded iron all over. Now, picture the train. It has to be massive, an absolutely pressuring size. The forefront appear to be quite a mess, as though it has seen a fair share of accidents, been put in numerous hopeless positions, and yet the plates of metal on it still shine as brightly as its first day and its horn still blares a powerful, almost ear-splitting sound.

This is the epitome of a man known as Roronoa Zoro.

It is speeding its way on the track. For every goal one have, there will be a drive behind it. An internal or external drive that prompts one to act; to work hard in the face of obstacles, boredom, fatigue, stress, and the attraction one have to do other things. The bigger one's desire to attain it, the heavier the burden one carries, the harder it will drive one to its goal. Nothing can get in its way as it progresses forward, heading towards its objective.

Nevertheless, like any other train it will make a pit-stop at a checkpoint in certain locations. It may take a while but it will inevitably arrive at its final destination. It can also be steered off its course for a brief stop as maintenance purpose, yet again interrupted on its conquest to endgame. This situation was no different than any of that stopover. It's all a part of the journey to being the greatest swordsman in the world.

Scratch that, the choice of words for this situation is a bit weak compared to the predicament Zoro has been thrown into. To say the train derailed from a bridge in high speed and hit a motorway along its way, causing it to be flipped over a couple times, and drove itself off a cliff at the last moment would be more precise. He has reached a conclusion yesterday that the world he woke up into is in fact different from the world he lived his whole life on. Removed from the familiar environment he has grown accustomed to, dropped into a different reality with new ground rules and laws to abide to, with absolutely zero idea on how to get home. A completely fresh concept of adventure was introduced to him, giving birth to a new dawn of romance for Zoro. And now it's time to return to the story in the present time.

The chorus of roars grew into a deafening wall of sound. The ground trembled from the pounding of the many feet running across its desolated surface. A sea of monsters with horns that curled above their heads raced across the terrain. They also have the body of a muscular man, in exception to their head and tail is that of a bull. The bull-like heads that rose from the creatures' bodies could only be called hideous. They bristled heavily in unison, a wave of hot air coming out their nostril, rolling their bloodshot eyes around to glare at their _prey_. The immense black mob of massive creatures worthy of the name "monsters" advanced as one, undeniably they are a force to be reckoned with.

With clubs of various shapes and sizes in the grip of their meaty hands. The ones at the front raised their weapons high above their heads, ready to strike at the sole figure that could be found wandering the vacant hallways in the dungeon. In truth, this was a scene straight out of a nightmare. The horde of monsters appeared out of nowhere and to add to that, each and every single one of the monsters towered over its human opponent. The swordsman with short, jade-coloured hair made eye contact with the giant standing in front of him, pulling slightly ahead from the other horned monsters. Time stood still in the face of those pulsing red orbs. The beast's rising club was reflected in his one good eye that was not grazed over by a single thin line of scar.

In a flash, a geyser of blood burst out of the Minotaur's body. Its head had taken off to the air for a brief second before landing on the ground with a dull thud. The man then swing his sword once again, cutting the air with a swift motion , effectively making a swooshing sound to be heard. Whistling with the sound of the wind, the tip of his pointy blade twinkled along with its owner's eye.

"Next."

Quickly closing the distance between him and the remaining monsters, he started disabling them all with a few quick slashes and continued charging further into the enemy ranks. He made his way to the centre, ignoring all the choked and other voices' expression of pain. What the man did is commonly considered as a suicidal act, and yet the expression on his face can only be described as happiness, or a rather twisted version of it. He performs a deadly dance amidst the group of Minotaurs. One hit after another. Monsters losing limbs to his left and right as the blade of the sword became the eye of a hurricane of blood. Arms, legs, head, and repeat. There was an element of beauty as well as cruelty in his fluid movements. His mastery in the swords wasted no motion, no effort in his every action.

The monsters in the front ranks were being torn apart in a fleeting moment, with more falling after each second. His weapon expertly connects with a number of necks and torsos of his targets at once, at the same time avoiding their bulging arms with impressive footwork before delivering his own killing blows. He pushed onward with reckless abandon, so lost in the bliss of battle that it takes him a moment later to realise he has ran out of opponents to cut down.

"Ah damn, I got sucked in again." Zoro's figure is seen standing in the middle of carnage, even his clothes and skin were not spared from the streaks and sprays of blood. He stares down at the sword being firmly gripped in his left hand. He has chosen to use Sandai Kitetsu on a whim, more than that he wasn't worried because in his mind he already knew he has full control over the cursed blade. As if answering his thought, though covered in the remains of monsters Zoro slayed, the stainless steel gives off a tiny glint of light in a doubtful respond. Zoro interpreted that in his own way and let one corner of his mouth quirks upward.

"You're being cheeky with me?" He finishes the short ritual of chiburui before returning the sword into its scabbard. Not expecting an actual reply to his imaginary dialogue, Zoro simply gives a light pat to the hilt. His eye then scans through the masses of the dead with an unsympathetic gaze, and softly mutters to himself. With his voice no louder than a whisper, the words that escaped from his mouth just as soft as caress of the wind.

"Where am I again?"

* * *

Zoro was awoken from his slumber considerably some time ago. It was hours before he started roaming the above floors, though that was completely unintentionally.

He woke up realising he had a strange dream. The same one he had of the black void of space, with the same floating spheres. A strange feeling entered his gut, it crawled under his skin and seeped into his bones, filling him with anxious discomfort. He disliked his body's reaction to his gut feelings, Zoro gathered himself and was about to leave when he heard a rustling sound coming from behind the trees. Zoro also noticed how the glittering of light reflected by the crystals are not as eye-blinding as they were this afternoon which could mean an amount of time has passed while he was in his sleep and the dark of night was steadily approaching the area.

"Where in da hell is he?" As if breaking a spell, the muffled voice had disrupted the tranquillity of nature Zoro was rather fond of. A figure of a well-built man emerged from the dense foliage. "Oya, there you are! I searched for you at the camp but you weren't there." His appearance looked every inch of a bandit.

The man has crude features, with his dark hair and teal-coloured eyes. An eyepatch covering his left eye, partially hiding the horrendous scar etched across his face, the scar stretched from his forehead right down until it reached the top of his lips. He's currently donning on a grey, sleeveless open jacket that shows off his muscular body. His attire also includes a black arm covers and gloves, blue pants, beige-coloured boots, and a belt with a red monster face carving, its strap hidden underneath a cloth made of fur.

"Who are you again?" Zoro stated bluntly, tilting his head to the side just as he did so.

"Ya bastard, it's me! I'm the city representative of Livira!"

"Who..?" Repeated Zoro, this time with his arms crossed over his torso. His head tilted slightly upwards in a thinking position. Eyebrows furrowed, it was clear as day that he was obviously pretending to be thinking hard.

"Ah it's no good, it's no good. Out of the goodness of my heart, I came to invite you over because we're having a drink tonight." As though the situation was hopeless, the man let out a sigh and lightly shook his head, his shoulders and arms raised in a single shrug.

"Oh wait, I totally remember you now." Zoro immediately gave an answer while feigning innocence; his eye turned into nothing more than a black dot on the side of his face, with a small thin line under it representing his mouth. He lightly tapped his palm with the other fist as if his words spoke the truth.

"That's grea—don't lie! You just wanna drink, don't ya?!" The man loudly exclaimed, an accusing finger pointed at Zoro.

"Ceh, so what are we waiting for? Let's go,"

"Don't suddenly just order me around…"

* * *

Bors Elder was the name of the man who sought him out. He officially introduced himself to Zoro as he led the both of them to Livira. Zoro was told the town has a beautiful lake view because it was built on the main island right in the middle of the clear water lake.

"Gahahah, you're quite lucky you know. I'm known for being extremely cheap,"

' _Is that something to be proud of?'_

"It's not every day I would invite a stranger to have a drink with me. You must be a man worthy of my respect," Just as the man said this, they finally arrived at the edge of the lake, _a tree big enough to support something at least double Zoro's weight could be seen floating on top of the water, connecting the island to the rest of the Dungeon floor as a bridge with no railings on both side. The tree bridge has been stripped of all leaves and branches and is basically just a giant log._

 _Zoro went on to follow Bors onto it, the faint light coming from the crystals right on top of his head helped him to see his own reflection on the surface of the water. As they reached the island, Zoro nodded in the direction they're heading to before asking his question._

 _"If there's town up there, wouldn't the other guys have been better off staying there instead of the woods?"_

 _"Hahah! That's 'cause ya snatched all the customers away."_

 _"What do you mean?"_

 _"Didn't cha noticed? They all camped there because they were curious about you."_

The road that led them to the town was a steep journey. The island looked like a mountain from far away, but in truth it's actually more of a cliff. Small plants and crystals could be seen jutting out from the cracks in the stone wall. They both climbed high enough to get an incredible view of the entire floor. _Zoro took in a deep breath of_ _fresh air_ _as he had gotten a clear view of everything from the top. The tunnel could be seen on the southern edge of the forest, probably the exit to the upper floors. About two thirds of the floor is covered in greenery but the trees thin out considerably in the north. And right in the heart of it all, a colossal tree stood erected in all its glory. It's the only place with a higher ground than the island in the western lake that they were standing on. The true identity of the 18th floor is widely known as a wilderness deep underground._

"This is an amazing view but why are we stopping? Pick up your pace, let's go."

"Are you a demon?! You should be more surprised by this sight!"

The man started but then felt absolutely dejected when he realised Zoro has already left the cliff and walked off to where he thought was the right direction heading to the town. _They arrived at the entrance; an arch-shaped gate decorated with flags at the end of two rows of wooden pillars greeted his eye. A sign with something written in a language Zoro completely unfamiliar with spread across the top of the gate._

 _HELLO FRIENDS, WELCOME TO RIVIRA_

"Oi, are you serious? Can you really call this a town? Everything is in shambles."

"Just give it time man and this place will grow on you."

 _Shacks made out of scraps of wood and large tents with signs on them stood in front of them. A few of the buildings built into large cracks in the walls of stone and tunnel entrances. The same goes for the town's hotel. Since the town was built halfway into the cliff next to a relatively flat area, flight of stairs were deemed necessary to help people venture from shop to shop. No matter where you headed around town, the pristine lake below and the amazing backdrop of the 18th floor would always be in view. The town surrounded by rock and crystals_ shone like a beacon of light in the evening light.

* * *

"Damn it!"

Inside one of the few taverns in a small niche of Livira. Built inside of a naturally occurring crevice in the cliff face, the bar floor was covered by a dirty rug and had only one table with a few chairs. The walls were dotted with portable magic-stone lamps. Even in here, crystals grew on one of the walls and a few spots in the ceiling. One man slammed his mug down on the table inside this bar that was a little bit different from most adventurers' usual watering holes.

"Haaaaa~ I really lost again!"

"Yosh, who wanna go next? I'll take all of you on!"

"You're in a different class all on your own! Should feel proud I got to go a couple round with you and call it a day."

"Tryna make yourself feel better, ain'tcha?"

"Oh shut it!"

That line got a chuckle out of everyone who sat at the bar, except from Bors. Since only a number of adventurers had the ability to come to middle level of the dungeon, meaning that most of the faces here were regulars to the residents who did business in the town. They were part of the exclusive club of upper-class adventurers within Orario. Bors sat at the peak of the social pyramid here, even though the people of Livira greatly opposed the idea of being governed—the guild was one of the many reasons why they had turned away from sunlight on the surface—it was still deeply rooted inside each and every single one of these warriors that the strong rightfully should stay at the top. And the burly man with the eyepatch was the only Level 3 out of all of them.

"You don't have to say yes to him every time Zoro-san, how about you tell us about you?" The man who addressed the green-haired was no mere human; he belonged to a race of cat people. His hair was as black as night and sticking out on top his head was a pair of cat ears. It perked up slightly at the end of his sentence, just as the pupils of his pecan-shell-coloured eyes sparkled up at the idea, displaying his cat-like curiosity in the man in front of him. He's the owner of one of the inns in Livira, Villy.

This got the attention of all the people gathering at the tavern, they were thinking to themselves that perhaps some of the questions they had about the man could finally be answered, or would they actually be rejected outright by the man. The mysterious man who had appeared in the midst of manslaughter and ended it with a swing of his swords. What amazed them even more—and bothered them to some extend as well—was the fact that they had been saved by a completely unknown swordsman.

"Sure," Zoro's short reply got a sweat drop reaction from everyone while a single thought was crossing their mind.

' _That easy?!'_

"Come closer, I'll tell you," his serious tone caused the cat man to gulp audibly before he leaned in closer to Zoro, his tail swishing back and forth behind him. Zoro lowered the mug in his hand which was already nearly empty, eye heavy with concentration, his pupil following every movement of the tail and in a flash he snatched up it up.

"GYAH! Wh—what… What are you doing oi..?"

"Whoa, it's the real deal? I thought you're only cosplaying." The poor thing squirmed in his hand, begging release. Had already lost interest, Zoro soon dropped it but just as quickly his arms snaked pass his head before he felt some light tuggings on his ears this time.

"Uwahhh, I'm being harassed! Just kidding~"

"So what are you, Zoro?" Bors piped in as he was watching everything unfold before his eye. He took a swig out of his mug. Zoro's thumb and forefinger was still pinching one of Villy's ear while he cupped his face with his other hand, elbow propped up and all. The cat man would rather not have any man touch him but the swordsman was already doing it without his consent, there was simply nothing else to lose.

"I'm a pirate."

"What the heck is that?"

"We go on adventures too but we set out to the sea. Ah bring in more booze, it's on Bors!"

"You damned marimo! It's because I lost the arm wrestling…"

And the night went on; the tavern was rowdy with all the tales of adventure, whichever part Zoro managed to voice out. It wasn't until the closing time that they all stumbled out of the building and went they separate ways. Villy drunkenly headed back to his inn, Bors to his cabin, hence Zoro was left alone to figure out his way back. And that led to the current situation Zoro found himself in.

* * *

15th floor.

' _That blondie said I should go deeper if I want stronger opponents, but why are they so much weaker?!'_

* * *

 **A/N: HELLO EVERYONE, I HOPE YOU HAVE BEEN DOING WELL. NEW CHAPTER IN, REALLY HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOY IT. A LIL BIT OF A SPOILER, NEXT ZORO WILL RUN INTO SOMEONE ON THE UPPER FLOORS AND THAT PERSON WILL BRING THE LOST MARIMO OVER TO THE GUILD. A WHOLE LOT OF SHIT WILL UNFOLD I THINK. DOES ANY OF YOU HAVE ANYONE SPECIFIC IN MIND TO FILL IN THAT POSITION? THANK YOU FOR READING AND I'LL SEE YOU NEXT TIME!**

 **Lazymanjones96: Thank you for your support, I hope this chapter won't bore you too much and keep you reading.**

 **TomahawkESP: Excited, aren't we?! Again, thank you for your time omg I think you are the most consistent reviewer! I'm always excited to hear from you.**

 **Vinayakdj1: I'm really glad you didn't find it to be a mess, appreciate this! Yes about that, I try to include more gag because a reader said it's not complete if there's no comedy.**

 **Feldoran: Oh nooo you figured it out! I kinda did that on purpose because I think the talk thing is too boring so I cut it out. Of course I will include a snippet of the whole conversation every once in a while. I wouldn't just leave yall hanging like that *winks* Thank you for your words, I thought of what you said so I gave Zoro some bonding moments but I CUT IT SHORT AGAIN MUAHAHAH. I'm extremely sorry I just don't think I can make the conversation interesting enough to read but I will try… Tell me if you like the interactions in this, doing that will greatly motivate me I think!**

 **Boyzpwn: Hello again! I'm always excited to see the readers' reaction too! Romantically (one sided though) I have Lefiya and Mikoto in mind. Platonic relationships I think it's possibly Aiz and Riveria. Zoro already has his one true love, his ambition! Hehe look forward to it then, I'll try to not let you down!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE CHARACTERS OR PLOTLINES IN THIS STORY. EVERYTHING BELONGS RIGHTFULLY TO THEIR RESPECTFUL AUTHORS.**


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